Airliner Bomb Plot Trial Starts in London
The trial of eight men accused of plotting to explode bombs on transatlantic airliners on flights from the UK to North America in 2006 has begun in London.
The men are accused of consipring to murder others and endanger aircraft taking off from London Heathrow Airport bound for the US and Canada.
A 12-person jury was selected on Wednesday, and the judge, Mr Justice David Calvert-Smith, said the case - being heard at Woolwich Crown Court in south-east London - would be "long and complex".
Mr Calvert-Smith explained: "This case concerns an allegation that in 2006 a number of men planned to create bombs which some of their number would take on board passenger aircraft flying from London Heathrow to various destinations in Canada and the USA".
He added: "It is further alleged that the bombs were planned to be set off when the aircraft were airborne and the bombers and all on board the aircraft would be killed".
The eight defendants, all from the London area, are Abdul Ahmed Ali, aka Ahmed Ali Khan (27 years old), Assad Sarwar (24), Tanvir Hussain (27), Mohammed Gulzar (26), Ibrahim Savant (27), Arafat Waheed Khan (26), Waheed Zaman (23) and Umar Islam, aka Brian Young (29).
All eight men deny the charges.
August 2006 Transatlantic Flights Bomb Plot
The alleged bomb plot to destroy transatlantic flights was discovered by UK security services and counter-terrorism police in August 2006.
The men were arrested after a two-day police operation which saw hundreds of flights into and out of the UK cancelled or delayed, causing significant disruption at London's Heathrow Airport in particular.
The incidents caused significant disruption at Heathrow and other airports, with the UK government raising the terror alert level to "critical" for four days.
Significantly, it led to security services tightening security through various measures, with new restrictions on the size of bags and prohibiting the carriage of liquids, gels and aerosols in hand luggage which are still in force today.
The trial is expected to last for eight months.
Prosecution in Airliner Terror Plot Begins
The first day of the trial saw the prosecution begin to make its case against the defends.
The prosecution alleged that the eight men targeted seven flights, to New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and San Francisco as well as the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal.
It is alleged that the men planned to carry small bombs, made from liquid explosives, in plastic drink containers on board the aircraft which would have been detonated in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said the victims of the attacks would have been "unwitting" civilian victims.
He told jurors: "These men were, we say, indifferent to the carnage that was likely to ensue. Some of the men you see in the dock are those who were prepared to sacrifice their own lives".
The trial continues.
Source - Airport International's London Reporter
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