In This Article
Subscribe to International UpdatesBotched U.K. Terror Attacks Planned Outside Britain
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Recent London and Glasgow plots were overseen by an international mastermind, say investigators; such low-tech attacks are a foretaste of future terrorism, according to U.S. experts.
30 Second Summary
Seven of the eight suspects arrested in connection with the failed bombings are doctors. All entered the U.K. legally and were working in some capacity for Britain’s National Health Service.
In the first incident, on Friday July 29, two cars containing crude but potentially lethal gas bombs were discovered in central London in the early morning.
The next day, two men believed to have positioned those cars drove a burning jeep into a terminal of Scotland's Glasgow Airport. This attempted suicide attack went awry when the vehicle, filled with gas canisters, failed to explode.
British counterterrorism officers said they are tracing a foreign-based “guiding hand” believed to have overseen the U.K. terrorist cell. Investigators have declined to identify that mastermind.
The attacks coincide with Gordon Brown’s first week as British prime minister. Brown is a Glasgow native, a fact that leads many commentators to suspect that the plots were intended to send a message to the new U.K. premier.
Some terrorism experts surmise that these low-tech bombings are a foretaste of what America may experience in future terrorist actions.
In the first incident, on Friday July 29, two cars containing crude but potentially lethal gas bombs were discovered in central London in the early morning.
The next day, two men believed to have positioned those cars drove a burning jeep into a terminal of Scotland's Glasgow Airport. This attempted suicide attack went awry when the vehicle, filled with gas canisters, failed to explode.
British counterterrorism officers said they are tracing a foreign-based “guiding hand” believed to have overseen the U.K. terrorist cell. Investigators have declined to identify that mastermind.
The attacks coincide with Gordon Brown’s first week as British prime minister. Brown is a Glasgow native, a fact that leads many commentators to suspect that the plots were intended to send a message to the new U.K. premier.
Some terrorism experts surmise that these low-tech bombings are a foretaste of what America may experience in future terrorist actions.
Headline
Investigators believe that all members of the U.K.-based terrorist cell behind the botched attacks are now in custody. British authorities have stated that the foreign-born doctors operated under the guiding hand of an international terrorist organization.
Source: The Guardian
Eight people have so far been detained in connection with the three failed attacks. One of the eight fled to Australia and was arrested trying to board a flight out of the country. The BBC offers a detailed timeline of events, from June 29 to July 6.
Source: The BBC
Reactions
The recent British plot is an indication of what America can expect, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials. The next attack in the United States is likely to be low-tech and designed to cause fear and confusion rather than widespread loss of life.
Source: The Washington Post
New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has responded to the attacks with a somber calm that many Britons feel is a welcome change from the more “breathless” approach of his predecessor Tony Blair, according to this Associated Press article.
Source: Breitbart.com
Key Players
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
The 56-year-old son of a Scottish priest, Brown went to Edinburgh University at only 16 and left with one of the best degrees in decades. He became an MP in 1983 and Chancellor of the Exchequer, the term for the British cabinet minister for finance, on May 2, 1997.
The 56-year-old son of a Scottish priest, Brown went to Edinburgh University at only 16 and left with one of the best degrees in decades. He became an MP in 1983 and Chancellor of the Exchequer, the term for the British cabinet minister for finance, on May 2, 1997.
Number 10 Downing Street is the British prime minister’s official home, the U.K. equivalent of the White House. Among much else, the Downing Street site offers video footage of Brown’s first speech and a biography of the new prime minister.
Source: 10 Downing Street
The public image of Gordon Brown is that of a “dour, self-absorbed figure, a ‘control freak.’” Yet, according to this BBC profile, that portrait is “at odds with the warm generous and engaging character described by Mr. Brown’s friends and family.” The article searches the new prime minister’s history for “the real Gordon Brown.”
Source: The BBC
After many years' waiting, finance minister Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as British prime minister on June 27, 2007.
Source: FindingDulcinea.com: Blair Stands Down, Brown Steps In
John Smeaton
Scottish baggage handler John Smeaton took on one of the terrorists at the Glasgow Airport terminal on June 30. His willingness to tackle a burning suicide bomber has made him a national hero.
Scottish baggage handler John Smeaton took on one of the terrorists at the Glasgow Airport terminal on June 30. His willingness to tackle a burning suicide bomber has made him a national hero.
Asked by reporters if he had any message for the terrorists, Smeaton said, “Glasgow doesnea accept this. If you come tae Glasgow, we’ll set about you.”
Source: The London Times
Smeaton’s actions have made him an Internet hero, according to the Guardian newspaper. One site asks readers to buy the man a pint of beer in a Glasgow Airport bar, and Smeaton now has 1,034 drinks awaiting him.
Source: The Guardian
Background
Operation Rhyme
The failed attacks of last week have been compared to a recent plot hatched in Britain that was foiled by Scotland Yard’s “Operation Rhyme.” The conspirators planned to destroy buildings in London and New York by detonating limousines packed with explosives.
The failed attacks of last week have been compared to a recent plot hatched in Britain that was foiled by Scotland Yard’s “Operation Rhyme.” The conspirators planned to destroy buildings in London and New York by detonating limousines packed with explosives.
In June 2007, a British court sentence seven men arrested in Operation Rhyme to a total of 136 years in prison. An eighth terrorist and leader of the cell was one Dhiren Barot, who was arrested in 2004.
Source: The New York Times (may require registration)
Head of MPS Counter Terrorism Command Peter Clarke said, “Dhiren Barot and his gang were determined terrorist who planned bombings on both sides of the Atlantic.” The police press release details the convictions.
Source: London's Metropolitan Police Service
Fertilizer Bomb Plot
Five British men were jailed for life in April 2007 for planning to plant bombs made from fertilizer at a shopping center in the south of England and at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. Comparisons have since been drawn between the targets of that plot and the recent attempted attack on June 29, 2007, which also involved a bomb attack on a nightclub.
Five British men were jailed for life in April 2007 for planning to plant bombs made from fertilizer at a shopping center in the south of England and at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. Comparisons have since been drawn between the targets of that plot and the recent attempted attack on June 29, 2007, which also involved a bomb attack on a nightclub.
One of the five terrorists, Omar Khyam, claimed to have worked for the number three in Al-Qaeda and had met one of the July 7 suicide bombers.
Source: Sky News
The BBC provides an interactive guide to the plans and history of the five British men who planned the fertilizer bombings.
Source: The BBC
Transatlantic Airliner Attacks
Islamic extremists in Britain plotted to blow up seven airliners flying between Britain and New York with liquid explosives hidden in hand luggage. Their plans were foiled in August 2006, with the arrest of 24 suspects, most of whom were British citizens of Pakistani origin.
Islamic extremists in Britain plotted to blow up seven airliners flying between Britain and New York with liquid explosives hidden in hand luggage. Their plans were foiled in August 2006, with the arrest of 24 suspects, most of whom were British citizens of Pakistani origin.
Source: The Washington Post
July 7
Fifty-two people died and hundreds were injured on July 7, 2005 when four suicide bombers detonated devices on the subway and on a bus in London. It was the first suicide bombing in Western Europe.
Fifty-two people died and hundreds were injured on July 7, 2005 when four suicide bombers detonated devices on the subway and on a bus in London. It was the first suicide bombing in Western Europe.
Source: CNN
July 7 Copy-Cats
Four men were convicted on July 9, 2007 of attempting to replicate the London subway attacks of 2005 only two weeks after that terrorist bombing killed 52 people. The copy-cat plot was derailed when the makeshift bombs failed to explode. The trial continues while the jury considers the accusations made against another two men charged of the same crimes.
Four men were convicted on July 9, 2007 of attempting to replicate the London subway attacks of 2005 only two weeks after that terrorist bombing killed 52 people. The copy-cat plot was derailed when the makeshift bombs failed to explode. The trial continues while the jury considers the accusations made against another two men charged of the same crimes.
Source: Reuters
The four convicted plotters were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a mandatory 40-year jail term, on July 11, 2007.
Source: The BBC
Opinion
Arianna Huffington rebukes politicians for trying to capitalize on the latest terrorist outrage to hit Britain. In particular, Huffington focuses on Sen. Joe Lieberman (R–Con.) and Rep. Peter King (R–NY), who argued that recent events in London and Glasgow justify the U.S. government’s domestic surveillance activities. Huffington offers her ironic take on the thinking behind this position: “When someone attacks––or tries to attack––us or one of our allies because we are a free society, we should respond by making ourselves less free.”
Source: The Huffington Post
According to Slate’s London correspondent, Anne Applebaum, there is a useful lesson to be learned from the way the attacks were foiled in Britain by the actions of ambulance workers, traffic wardens, and police. “The London bombs are indeed an ominous reminder that the terrorist war on the West continues,” she writes. “They were also an excellent reminder that we––and our open societies and our liberal values––are still winning.”
Source: Slate.com
“Britain faces a greater risk of home-grown terrorist attack than other rich countries,” according to this August 2006 Economist article on “British exceptionalism” in the war against terror. Some of the reasons identified are the allegedly isolated position Muslims occupy in British society, Britain’s support of U.S. foreign policy, and Britain’s historical links with Pakistan, the reported location of the most senior Al-Qaeda members.
Source: The Economist
Reference Material
The London car bombs failed to explode despite repeated calls to the cell phones that were rigged to trigger the bombs because the detonators malfunctioned. As this ABC report explains, these fuel-air explosives are very unreliable.
Source: ABC News
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