Success Stories: Plot to Bomb 10 U.S.-Bound Airplanes Disrupted

Objective: Continue to Protect our Nation from Dangerous People

Situation		Action
"Major terrorist plot" to blow up 10 commercial airplanes in flight bound for the U.S. from the U.K. Terrorists' plan was to smuggle liquid explosive materials aboard 10 planes in carry-on baggage and assemble the bombs onboard Plan for "mass murder on an unimaginable scale"		DHS works with the British to identify the suspects Pre-dawn raids in London, Birmingham, and Thames Valley area of England by British law enforcement Aug 10, 2006: 24 conspiracy suspects are arrested British make arrests after concluding the terrorists would soon try to stage their suicide attacks
Result
DHS raises threat level for aviation to RED DHS, FBI & DOJ investigate further leads Flights delayed, cancelled at Heathrow; minor delays at some U.S. airports: commercial flights return to normal within 24 hours If successful, the terrorists' plot could have rivaled the September 11th, 2001 attacks in death toll		[The plot] "was sophisticated, it had a lot of members and it was international in scope." - Secretary Michael Chertoff   FBI Director Mueller, TSA Director Hawley, and Secretary Chertoff address reporters on terror threat.
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This page was last modified on August 30, 2007