debkafile reports: The liquid explosives sought six months after foiled al Qaeda airline terror plot from the UK are found in Lebanon
The plot for 10 airliners to crash over US cities by detonating liquid explosives, hidden in hand luggage, disrupted British and transatlantic air traffic last August.
Six months later, the Lebanese police report the confiscation of the first batch ever found anywhere of these explosive devices at the S. Lebanese Palestinian camp of Ain Hilwa, near Sidon port.
debkafile revealed last year that an al Qaeda network had infiltrated Ain Hilwa.
British security detained 21 suspects in the mass murder conspiracy but had not laid hands on any of the liquid explosives they were to have used.
A Lebanese police communique said each device consists of two tubes filled with blue liquid fitted on a board and connected to a time-detonator.(See picture) The 31 sets confiscated included “sophisticated electro-chemical timers-detonators that can be timed to explode after 124 days.” They were described as being of East European origin.
The sets were assembled and waiting to be smuggled and used in terrorist acts, the communique revealed – only they were busted 12 days ago. The Lebanese police delayed its report on the seizure in order to track down members of a major terrorist network operating in different parts of Lebanon.
British and European intelligence have been hunting the liquid explosives since last August. Almost all western airports now ban air passengers from carrying liquids in their hand luggage.