Friday, August 11, 2006

Pakistan Arrests Helped Shed Light on Plot, Officials Say.

British police officers guarded a house raided earlier in London’s Walthamstow District - Andrew Testa for the New York Times.

I've been busy working all day, so I haven't had a chance to follow the news since I left my apartment early this morning.

While unwinding and reading the news tonight I saw this article on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) news website which gives more information about the terror plot.
It seems that arrests made in Pakistan earlier in the week and a message sent urging the plotters to implement their attacks is what lead to the crackdown yesterday along with the delays going to and from Heathrow: Pakistan arrests helped shed light on plot, officials say.
Intelligence officials in Pakistan say two Britons arrested last week in that country helped provide information on an alleged plot to blow up commercial flights from the United Kingdom to the United States.

The arrests were reportedly made in the cities of Lahore and Karachi, the officials said in a report published in a British newspaper Friday.

In addition to the two Britons, five other people were arrested, officials said. The five were said to be arrested on suspicion that they served as local "facilitators" for the two Britons, an official said.

The Guardian newspaper in Britain said that after those arrests were made, a message was sent from Pakistan to Britain telling the alleged plotters: "Do your attacks now."

The message was intercepted and decoded earlier this week, The Guardian said. American and British counterterrorism officials said that they had been planning to break up alleged terrorist cells in the next few days, but the officials said they were forced to move earlier to prevent huge loss of life.

As well, Pakistani intelligence officials also confirmed that one other suspect was arrested in the city of Faisalabad, and that the arrest took place four or five days ago.

The officials did not give any further information in that arrest, including the suspect's nationality.

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