Pakistan captures 17 more suspects, some British nationals, in airline bomb plot

Seventeen additional jihadists, along with the 24 arrested in the UK. Given the geographical distribution of the arrests -- Lahore, Karachi, near Islamabad, and an unspecified (Afghanistan?) "border area" -- it will likely be impossible to ascertain how many were ultimately involved, and how many will try to attack again. From AP:

"Pakistan Nabs 17 in Airplane Terror Plot"

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Aug 11, 2006 (AP)— Pakistani intelligence agents have arrested as many as 17 people, some of them British nationals and at least one with alleged ties to al-Qaida, in the plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States.
Britain hailed Pakistan's help in thwarting the planned attack, but the arrests on Pakistani soil showed that despite its successes against al-Qaida, the country remains a fertile ground for Islamic militancy.
British authorities arrested 24 people Thursday in what they said was a scheme to bring down as many as 10 jetliners in a nearly simultaneous strike. The suspects were believed to be mainly British Muslims, at least some of Pakistani ancestry.
The Foreign Ministry said that acting on information received from Britain, Pakistan had made arrests that triggered the arrests in Britain. It named British national Rashid Rauf as a "key person" who had been nabbed in Pakistan.
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao alleged that Rauf has ties with the al-Qaida terror network.
"We arrested him from the border area and on his disclosure we shared the information with British authorities, which led to further arrests in Britain," the interior minister told The Associated Press.
Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri, in an interview with CNN, confirmed the arrests of seven suspects in Pakistan, including Britons. He said the suspects "had been monitored for quite some time" before they were arrested.
Another senior government official said they included two Britons of Pakistani origin who were arrested about a week ago, and five Pakistanis detained in the eastern city of Lahore and the southern city of Karachi. The Pakistanis were arrested on suspicion that they served as the Britons' local facilitators, the official said.
An official at the British High Commission in Islamabad said he could not confirm the arrests of any Britons in Pakistan.
A Pakistani intelligence official said 10 Pakistanis were arrested Friday in Bhawalpur district, 300 miles southwest of Islamabad, in connection with the terror plot. A second intelligence official confirmed there were arrests in Bhawalpur, but did not know how many. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of their jobs.
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It is obvious Pakistan is playing 'good cop' 'bad cop'. Bad cop to launch terror attacks in UK, USA and India, then when heat is turned on, turns into a good cop, rewarded with aid (which plots further terror attacks against UK, USA and India) and arms (for further attacks on India). Only a fool cannto see through Pakistan's double game, which by the way, is consistent with tenets of Islam, Jihad and Taquiya. Yes, it all makes perfect sense.

A million students, right now, in the madrasas of Pakistan. Pakistani officers, right up to the level of generals, supporting the efforts of "Dr." A. Q. Khan to the hilt, efforts to steal atomic secrets, efforts to bring those secrets back and exploit them, efforts not only to build what they call the Islamic Bomb, but to offer simlar help to all those states that are deemed either those of fellow Muslims, or states that though non-Muslim will help to weaken the Western world, seen as Islam's chief obstacle -- Iran, and North Korea, and by some reports, even Libya, even Iraq, even Egypt, even Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan was the incubator of the Taliban, and its most loyal and useful supporter. Pakistan was one of three states to recognize the Taliban regime (the others, unsurprisingly, were Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.) Pakistan is doing its level best to help the Americans, or pretened to help them, against this or that group of Al Qaeda members, just enough to keep all those F-16s, all that other military aid, all that cancellation of debts, continuing, despite the recognition by some in America that Pakistan is not and can never be our ally, but our enemy, and an enemy whose trivial help now and then with a handful of would-be terrorists does not in any way make up for the larger problem of Paksitan and of Pakisetani natives or their progeny allowed foolishly to settle in the West. Unlike some non-Arab Muslims, the non-Arabs (essentially, the descendants of Hindus forced on pain of death or to avoid the horrors of dhimmitude, Hindustan-style) of Pakistan have Islam and only Islam. They do not permit themselves to recognize their own pre-Islamic past; to do so would be to admit that they are in fact the descendants of Hindus, that their ancestors were forced, at some point, to become Muslims. This they cannot do. For them, therefore, there is Islam and only Islam. And Pakistan itself exists only to be a state of, by and for Muslims. But I hold this truth to be self-evident: that the wretched state of Pakistan will indeed very likely perish from this earth, consumed in its own sectarian and ethnic violence, not unlike what is almost certain to happen -- and a good thing to, from our point of view though apparently the Bush Administration is having a hard time grasping this -- in Iraq, and quite possibly in at least another Muslim state to be found between Iraq and Pakistan.


And the Muslim denial and paranoia goes on, the worse part is the mind set of Clerics that blame 'Root causes' that makes the youth enbrace suicide bombing to kill civilians.

But this attitude of blaming the victim seems embedded in Islam and Sharia-Law , and try to imagine a Imam visiting a 'womens's shelter' for abused spouses, the Imam scans his Quran and reads over the Sharia-Law applications and then
comforts the abused by asking..

"So..what do you think you did to make your spouse have to defend themself by using violence to stop you?"

Attention to all Muslims...the Quran is the root cause for every act of terrorism by self-professed Muslims killing for Allah , if this is too hard to understand then look at the issue of Palestine an suicide bombers.
If oppression was so bad we would see the older population of Palestinians being Jihadists since they suffered the most , and another twist to debunk the suicide path as the only way to get peace, ask yourself why is it that the Christian and non-Muslims in Palestine who suffer the same amout of poverty and harm aren't the suicide bombers.

It's the quran stupid !

Quake Aid Money May Have Been Used to Fund Terror Plot

PoK quake money used by LeT to fund Britain plot

PTI | Islamabad

Islamic charity body remitted amount to 3 men ---- Investigators probing the plot to blow up several aircraft from Britain to US suspected involvement four Islamic militant groups including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Sunni extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The probe revealed that funds provided by a UK-based Islamic charity for earthquake relief in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, (PoK) have apparently been used to target planes, media report here said today.

"The links of the arrested suspect could not be confirmed, but sources said Intelligence agencies had put four Islamic organisations on the watchlist and they included two UK-based outfits Al Mahajroon and Hizbul Tehrir, and two Pakistani organisations Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi," the daily Dawn reported.

Also Rauf Rashid, the British national of the Pakistan origin, officially identified as the key suspect by Pakistan on Friday for providing the tip-off about the plot to blow the US bound aircraft with liquid explosives as the father of Tayyeba Rauf, a suspect who was arrested in Britain in connection with 7/7 London bombings, it said.

During interrogation, Rauf unveiled the terrorism plot aiming to destroy at least 10 passenger aircraft in the UK, it quoted officials as saying. The information was shared with UK Home Land Security department that resulted in a raid in which 21 suspects were arrested in London on Thursday, it said.

Another newspaper Daily Times reported investigations revealed that a UK-based Islamic charity group remitted a huge amount of money to three individuals having bank accounts in Mirpur, PoK in December last year with the sole purpose of helping its recipients and their organisations carry out the plan to bomb the aircraft in the UK.

The links with LeT, which was banned by Pakistan, was disquieting for Islamabad as the outfit has already been blamed for Mumbai bomb blasts last month. New Delhi has been demanding Pakistan to take stern action against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), an Islamic charity organisation, which India says is the re-incarnation of LeT.

A day before the plot to blow up the planes unfolded in London, Pakistan police in a midnight swoop put the LeT founder leader and head of JUD Hafeez Sayeed under house arrest. His detention on August 10 was perceived to be because of pressure from India, though JUD spokesman Yahya Mujahid denied any link.

According to Mujahid, Sayeed was arrested to prevent him from taking part in a rally planned to be held by the group on August 14, Pakistan's Independence Day.

The JUD, on watchlist along with Jaish-e-Muhammad, had officially been allowed by Pakistan Government last year to take part in the relief work in the quake-affected areas of PoK and NWFP during which the two outfits reportedly received and spent large amount of money for relief. India and the US criticised Pakistan for permitting the outfits to take part in the relief work.

Several plotters had travelled to Pakistan in the last couple weeks and had met at least one suspected Al Qaeda operative, most likely Rauf, reports said.

British Intelligence agency MI-5 alerted Pakistani authorities about Rauf and his trail was later picked up by the ISI.

The plotters were planning to carry out a dry run of the operation when they were rounded up.

"Had the dry run that included an attempt to board flights at the same time proved successful, they were to carry out the real attacks within days of the dry run", it quoted officials as saying. "It has all the hallmarks of Al Qaeda and Rauf has had linkages across the border in Afghanistan," they said.

The Daily Times, in its report, said money was transferred to the bank accounts of three Kashmiris in POK which was later used to finance the operation to blow up the planes.

The Muslim Charity of UK remitted not so long ago a huge amount of money under the head of "earthquake relief" to the accounts of three individuals in three different banks - Saudi Pak Bank, Standard Chartered and Habib Bank Ltd. One of the branches of the banks functioned from PoK because of a huge number of Kashmiris from PoK were based in UK.

The reports said the money was transferred from the UK to banks in PoK through Barclays.

Two of the recipients of the transaction are British citizens of Kashmiri origin while the third is an Islamabad-based builder, also of Kashmir origin, the reports said.

"They were arrested in the last two weeks at three different places in the country. One of them was arrested in Karachi, while the 'builder' was arrested in Islamabad", they said adding that the third suspect is still at large.

"There are no available details about these three suspects with regard to their links with organisations such as Al Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Tayyeba or both", the reports said.

Pakistani FIA investigators were apparently tipped off by the British authorities about the fund transfers and asked to investigate. Following their arrests the three suspects revealed some key elements of the aircraft bombing plan during interrogations by various agency personnel, they said.

According to UK's National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, (NTFIU), a huge amount of money had been transferred from Britain to PoK for relief efforts two months after the October 8 quake.

"Neither the amount nor the purpose for which money was sent caused concern in the British investigation unit. What raised alarm among British sleuths specialising in finances was the fact that the entire money was remitted to three individuals, not to any organisation or organisations involved in the relief work," the reports said.

The official, who refused to disclose the amount, however, said that the entire transaction was in pound sterling. "It is up to you to deduce. What I can say is that it was a huge amount. Had it not been gone into the accounts of individuals, nobody would have been bothered," he added.

Terror turf: Pak to Berlin


# 4 Islamic groups, including Pak-based Lashkar-e-Toiba and Sunni extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are suspect in London plot


# Funds by UK-based Islamic charity for earthquake relief in PoK used to target planes


# Several plotters had travelled to Pakistan in the last couple of weeks and met at least one suspected Al Qaeda operative


# Plotters received a coded message from Pakistan to "attack now." This message was intercepted by the police


# Pakistan denied there was any connection between the terror plot and the house arrest of LeT founder Hafeez Muhammad Sayeed


# US daily says Pakistan remains prime focus of US Intelligence and security agencies. "Everything is coming out of there," a US Intelligence source was quoted as saying.


# Sleuths probing German link of terror brigade


# Bush says: "We must never make the mistake of thinking the danger of terrorism has passed. This week's experience reminds us of a hard fact - the terrorists have to succeed only once to achieve their goal of mass murder, while we have to succeed every time to stop them."

you see here, the pakis want to be more muslim than their arab masters. they are fast becoming the nation of the walking dead.

The infidel countries rushing in with aid only end up empowering the terrorists.Let them die in misery accepting it as insha God.

Be it earthquakes or tsunamis, the muslims deserve NO AID AT ALL from non muslims."Humanitarian" applies only to humans.

That the terrorists are upset with foreign policies of Western Governments amuses me.Kuwait is one country that hangs pakistani (and/or afghani...oh they are all the same) drug traffickers(Thank God!) and is accepted matter of factly by one and all.

Zena, americaningermany,
You hit the nail on the head.

I now feel companies and corporates that contributed to the earthquake fund should be prosecuted and warned not to repeat this folly in future. This includes Indian companies like Infosys (yes these guys are idiots !). Even if the contributions are non-monetary, money is fungible and a penny saved is a penny spent on Jihad.

The earthquake decimated a number of Jihadists, otherwise the airplane plot would have been carried out by now. Relief money indeed !

bajirao,
Yes, the donations were sent. In the hope that the muslims might learn. And understand that we in India do not wish them harm. People who have read history know that this will not work. But these people are limited. And their voices are not heard. Not in India, not anywhere in the world.

As long as Dubya is in White house, Pakistan will enjoy the elite status of 'ally againat terror', 'friend of US', 'hope of change in Islamic world', 'invaluable partner against terror'... and many more, even as Pakistan prevents US access to areas Al-Qaeda is suspected to hide, refuse to hand over 'Sheikh Omar', prevent access to Dr. A Q Khan, declares Pakistan is a soverign nation while declaring North West area inaccessible, Shelters Dawood Ibahim, the main sponsor terror attacks in India.

Meet, US's 'ally against terror', Islamic Republic of Pakistan.