British Jihad Update from AP:
LONDON – British police thwarted a terrorist plot Thursday to blow up 10 U.S.-bound jetliners with a peroxide explosive “” a nearly simultaneous strike over the Atlantic that could have killed thousands of people and rivaled the carnage of 9/11.
In raids across England, authorities arrested 24 people based partly on intelligence from Pakistan “” moving quickly because U.S. officials said the bombings could have been only days away.
The scheme bore the hallmark of al-Qaida. The bombs were to be assembled on the aircraft using a peroxide-based solution and detonated by a power supply from a camera, a digital music player or other electronic device, two American law enforcement officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Britain asked that no information be released.
The close call shifted attention once more to Britain’s Islamic community just over a year after the London transit attacks. Three Britons of Pakistani descent and a Jamaican convert to Islam carried out those deadly bombings with a peroxide explosive that can be made using ordinary ingredients such as hair bleach….
Obligatory “They’re All Lovely Guys” riff:
Hamza Ghafoor, 20, who lives across the street from one of the homes raided in Walthamstow, northeast of London, said police circled the block in vans Wednesday and that they generally swoop into the neighborhood to question “anyone with a beard.”
“Ibrahim didn’t do nothing wrong,” Ghafoor said, referring to a suspect. “He played football. He goes to the mosque. He’s a nice guy.”