Saturday
16 Dec 2006
London Planes Plot Thickens - Part I
By Annie Jacobsen in category The Al-Qaeda Threat
For about five months now, England has been trying to extradite Rashid Rauf from Pakistan. Rauf, a citizen of both countries, is the alleged mastermind of the London Planes Plot — one which involved plans to blow up as many as ten commercial jets bound from London to the United States. The plot was foiled and made public on August 10, 2006. On Thursday, December 14, Scotland Yard got one step closer to Rauf; a Pakistani judge has dropped terrorism charges against him.
The dramatic ruling by a court in Rawalpindi is being seen as part of an agreement to speed up his return to the UK where Scotland Yard detectives want to question Mr Rauf about the Heathrow plot and his possible links to the 7/7 suicide bombers in London.
British officials missed him the first time and don’t want to repeat that fatal mistake yet again. From the Sunday Times Online (Sri Lanka):
Rauf, father of a suspect arrested in connection with last years’ London bombings, is alleged to have confessed that the plot involved blasting of at least ten aircraft. He is reported to have said that they were planning to use liquid bombs which would be made in the toilets of the aircraft by mixing hydrogen peroxide with other chemicals to be smuggled in as food or cosmetics.
The original arrests in the foiled plot netted twenty-three British men and one woman. To date, twelve young men have been charged with conspiracy to murder as well as preparing an act of terrorism. The men, many of Pakistani heritage and all Islamic fundamentalists, have been linked to Al-Muhajiroun — an Islamist group banned in London in October 2004. A fax written from Bin Laden to Al Muhajiroun’s leader, Omar Bakri Mohammed, is quoted on TheAviationNation.com About Us page. “Bring down their airliners…” Bin Laden commands.
Rashid Rauf is also linked to Al-Qaeda through marriage. He is believed to have married the sister of Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, or Army of Mohammed. Masood Azhar was sprung from an Indian prison on New Year’s eve 1999 — in a hostage-for-prisoner exchange involving hijacked Indian Air 814. Shortly after the London Planes Plot was thwarted, Al-Jazeera aired videotape of Masood Azhar having dinner with Bin Laden. The London Planes Plotters are linked to Bin Laden in more ways that one. British counter-terrorism officials believe England remains ‘Number One Al-Qaeda’s Target.’ Security sources tell the BBC “the situation as never been so grim.”