8 'Plotted to Blow Up' 7 Airliners

Discussed bringing families on suicide missions

(NEWSER) - In London yesterday, prosecutors introduced “martyrdom videos” as evidence against eight British Muslims accused of plotting to destroy US-bound airliners in 2006, the Times reports. One video, found in a man’s garage, envisioned “your people’s body parts responsible for these wars and oppression decorating the streets.” The prosecutor also said some of the men discussed, in wiretapped conversations, bringing their wives and children with them on their suicide missions, AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The three men convicted of plotting to smuggle liquid bombs onto trans-Atlantic flights all received life sentences in British court today, with minimum terms ranging between 32 and 40 years, the BBC reports. The judge said the attack aspired to “stand alongside” the 9/11 attacks, calling it “the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven within this jurisdiction.” More»

Planned use of liquid explosives sparked restrictions still in effect

(NEWSER) - Three British Muslims were convicted today of conspiracy to blow up airplanes with liquid explosives in a failed 2006 plot that led to restrictions on drinks and toiletries on flights, the Times of London reports. Ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar, and Tanvir Hussain were retried after a jury last year found them guilty only of conspiracy to cause explosions in a plot to place suicide bombers on at least seven flights from Heathrow to the US and Canada. More»

But jury doesn't convict any of 8 in trying to blow up transatlantic airliners

(NEWSER) - Three men were convicted today of conspiracy to commit murder with homemade bombs, the BBC reports, but neither they nor five others were found guilty of plotting to blow up transatlantic flights in 2006. Their arrests, hailed as a major blow against terrorism, occasioned new airport regulations on liquids—soda was a key ingredient in the explosives—and caused vast scheduling chaos. More»