Breaking news from the UK right now:
A major terrorist plot to blow up an aircraft has been disrupted by authorities in Britain, Scotland Yard said in a statement Thursday.
The plot was believed to have involved smuggling explosive devices on board the aircraft in hand luggage, Scotland Yard said.
The plot was likely to target flights from Britain to the United States, the statement said.
A number of arrests have been made in London. The intention had been to blow up planes in midair by getting bombs into the plane through hand luggage.
It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on aircraft in hand luggage.
The BBC says 'about' 18 people have been arrested.
Police have arrested about 18 people in the London area after an anti-terrorist operation lasting several months.
Security at all airports in the UK has been tightened and delays are expected. MI5 says the current UK threat level is critical - the highest possible.
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "We would like to reassure the public that this operation was carried out with public safety uppermost in our minds.
"This is a major operation which inevitably will be lengthy and complex."
Hopefully this one is based on more accurate intelligence than the last 'terrorist raid' by British police.
This is still a developing story, so the details are bound to change...
Update: As for who these arrested terrorist suspects are, few hints can be found.
British Home Secretary John Reid said the 21 people were arrested in London, its suburbs and Birmingham following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged "main players" in the plot. Searches continued in a number of locations.
The British Broadcasting Corp. said police were evacuating homes in High Wycombe, a town 30 miles northwest of London, near one of the houses being searched. Police refused to confirm the report or to discuss any details of the searches.
The suspects were "homegrown," though it was not immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South Asian community, the official said.
Ah, so it is somebody from "South Asia". Somehow I doubt it is Vietnam we're talking about. The above AP article, this headlining BBC article, and this Reuters article all avoid even mentioning the words "Islam", "Muslim" or "Islamist." The latter did discuss a possible "al Qaeda link" but that is all the hints we get. It is certainly not desirable to demonise all Muslims, but pretending the current terror threat has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam is fooling oneself on a massive scale.
8:14:36 AM 
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