What Prompted UK To Raise Terror Alert

What prompted the UK to raise it’s terror alert status to severe over the weekend? It appears it may have been more than just a single, isolated threat.

First, the UK’s Times Online reports that it was raised by authorities fearing that Islamist terrorists planned to hijack an Indian passenger jet and crash it into a British city.

Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert

MI5 was told by the Indian authorities early last week about a suspected plot by militants linked to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan to hijack an Air India or Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai or Delhi.The warning, which came after the capture of a suspected Islamic leader, was contained in a detailed “threat assessment” sent to MI5 by the Indian Intelligence Bureau.

It did not state that Britain was a specific target. But police security sources said it had raised fears in London that a British city might be attacked.

via Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert – Source.

However; The Independent reports:

Yemen Meeting Caused Switch To Severe Terror Alert

The terror threat to the UK was raised to “severe” after intelligence suggested this week’s London conferences on Yemen and Afghanistan could be used by al-Qa’ida as an opportunity to strike at the West, Whitehall sources said yesterday.

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, announced that Britain is on its second-highest alert level – meaning an attack is considered “highly likely” – on Friday evening amid concerns in London and Washington that al-Qa’ida is planning a renewed push against US and UK interests.

Other, anonymous, sources keen for levels of public awareness, or anxiety, to be raised gave different accounts. The Sunday Telegraph said that a group of female terrorists, who may have a “non-Arab” appearance, had been trained to attack western targets. The Sunday Times reported MI5 fears that Islamic terrorists planned to hijack an Indian airliner and crash it into a British city.

Source

And as if those those were not sufficient reasons, there is also a threat of women suicide bombers, as reported in the Sunday Telegraph.

Al-Qaeda has trained female suicide bombers to attack West, US officials warn

Al-Qaeda terror cells have trained a group of female suicide bombers to attack Western targets, US officials have warned.

The women, who may have a “non Arab” appearance and be travelling on Western passports, have been prepared for their missions by the Yemeni group responsible for the operation to blow up an airliner over the United States on Christmas Day.

Details of the bombers emerged just hours after British spy chiefs raised the UK threat state to “severe” amid fears that al-Qaeda was planning a wave of attacks against western targets.

Source

Hijacking Thwarted Aboard Flight to Cairo

Security guards thwarted an attempted hijacking Wednesday on an EgyptAir flight from Istanbul to Cairo.

A Sudanese man used a knife from the in-flight meal to threaten crew members and demanded that the flight be diverted to Jerusalem, the official said. Guards on the flight were able to detain the man and no one was hurt, he said.

An attempted hijacking by a man wielding a knife from an in-flight meal has been thwarted by guards, EgyptAir officials said. The incident happened shortly after the plane, carrying almost 90 people, took off from Istanbul, Turkey, heading to Cairo. The Sudanese man threatened crew members and demanded that the flight be diverted to Jerusalem, officials said.

He was detained by air marshals, and the flight landed in Cairo.

Source

Mexico-USA Flights See Increased Security Measures

Mexican federal police will intensify security measures on flights inbound to the United States from Mexico at the request of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to press reports in Mexico.

Under the new measures, Carry-on luggage as well as regular baggage will be thoroughly checked twice, as will boarding tickets. The measures, adopted after the hijacking of an Aeromexico plane on September 9th, was prepared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and expanded to include about 450 U.S. airports with flights from Mexico, reported Federal Police sources.

Read Full Article (Translated)

Cancun – Aeromexico Jet Hijacked, Flown To Mexico City

UPDATE: Aeromexico Flight 576: Mexican security forces have boarded the hijacked plane and taken 5-7 suspects into custody.
Cancun – Mexican Plane Reportedly Hijacked Flown To Mexico City.

All passengers have left an AeroMexico passenger plane that was hijacked at the airport in the resort area city of Cancun and flown to the airport in the capital of Mexico City.

The hijacked plane, a Boeing 737, landed safely and is on the runway at the airport, according to Mexico’s Transport Minister Juan Molinar. Mexican security forces are at the airport.

At least three men, reportedly of Bolivian citizenship, seized control of the plane and threatened to blow it up unless they were allowed to speak to Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon, according to Web sites El Universal and Reforma.

Local television reports said that there were explosives onboard the plane.

The plane was carrying 104 passengers and was bound for Mexico City, according to Mexican network, TV Azteca.

Live Video Stream

Airline Preparedness – Always Mindful of the Nearest Exit

When I travel, I am always planning for disaster. I’m not some guy who hates to fly. I actually love to fly. But I can’t turn off the “what ifs” in my brain. I’m a former Secret Service agent and the training is ingrained. And now I own a security company.

Part of being an effective Secret Service agent was having what we liked to call “situational awareness.” It’s basically nothing more than looking around your location, sizing up the people around you, and then thinking of the many things that could go wrong, and what you would do if one of those things happened.

Now I do that on airplanes. I just can’t help myself. I’m actually the guy who always pays attention to the preflight safety briefing. And I actually review the safety card, if only to look at the diagram of exits.

The single most important thing in this process is planning how I am going to get out if things go south during my flight. This is particularly true if I am traveling with my family. I actually visualize how we’re going to get out of an emergency.

There are a few other things I do for safety. I never take off my shoes until we’ve reached cruising altitude, and I make sure they’re on before descent. I encourage my wife to wear flats because it’s hard to move quickly in heels, and being barefoot is worse.

And I always carry a few tools. One of my favorite items is a lithium cell flashlight. When I was a Secret Service agent, I found that a good flashlight is the single most useful tool on the planet. Aircraft evacuations happen so quickly that I don’t know if I ever will need to use it — at least I hope I won’t. But I always bring one with me.

Also in the category of things that I may not have time to use, but still carry anyway, is a smoke mask. The one I have is filled with aloe, which filters toxic chemicals out of smoke.

Read Full Article

Students, Citizens Thwart School Bus Hijacking

Quick thinking by a dozen teenagers may have avoided an apparent school bus hijacking from turning tragic, said witnesses. A man boarded a bus as it stopped at Boulevard and Burroughs Road and tried to take control of it, school district and Atlanta police officials said. The suspect briefly fought with the bus driver, forcing her out of the seat and taking control of the vehicle.

At about 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, an Atlanta Public Schools bus ran off of Boulevard Road after Arris Pitmon, 23, forced his way onto the bus transporting Forrest Hills Academy students and began attacking the driver and a student.

Pitmon boarded the bus as it stopped at Boulevard and Burroughs Road, school district and Atlanta police officials said.

He briefly fought with the driver, forcing her out of the seat and taking control of the bus. He attempted to drive the bus, but then went after the driver who had gone to the back of the bus with the students.

As other students escaped through the back emergency exit, one-by-one, along with the bus driver, a 16 year old male tried to take control of the steering wheel and fought with Pitmon.

Eventually, the bus jumped a sidewalk, slid down a hill and crashed into a fence.

Read Full Article

al Qaeda Plotting Multiple Attacks on US-Israel-bound Airliners

Western anti-terror agencies have warned that a large group of 15-20 al Qaeda terrorists, trained in Pakistan and Algeria to hijack and blow up airliners, deployed secretly in at least six European and Middle East countries in early July. They are reported to be standing ready to carry out multiple terrorist attacks.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report the first specific red alert on Saturday, July 4, referred to the possible hijack of Turkish Airways planes taking of from Turkish airports for US destinations or Tel Aviv.

More from WTOP

Last week, German authorities discovered that groups of terrorists may have been dispatched from training bases in Pakistan to launch crippling attacks.

In April, U.S. intelligence officials warned Germany about possible terror attacks. Since that time German security officials have reportedly been preparing for massive, multi-layered attacks for which al-Qaida has become known.

Shortly after the April warning, German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said in an unrelated interview, “You will understand that I can’t go into the details of the terrorist threat, but I can only tell you that we all know that we have to be vigilant and that we have to continue to work very hard on that, but I do not want to go into details.”

Intelligence suggests al-Qaida operatives are planning to plant multiple explosive devices in several locations and detonate them either in a simultaneous or sequential fashion.

U.S. and German intelligence sources say that strategy is designed to emulate the ones employed Bali in 2002 and Madrid in 2004. The idea is to draw in first responders to the scene after the first explosion, and then the subsequent explosions are set off in the same location to inflict maximum casualties.

A U.S. intelligence source with knowledge about the situation says “it is a credible threat, which also includes Germans in North Africa.

Source

Man Threatens To Crash Plane, Shoot Police – Phoenix

Police are looking for a man who allegedly threatened to crash a plane and shoot police on Tuesday morning.

Detective James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department said the suspect was being picked up by State Mental health authorities when he made the threats.

Deer Valley Airport was placed on lockdown while officers searched the airport.

Holmes said the man was known to shower at Phoenix Country Club.

The club and the man’s home were also searched, but officers did not find him.

The man is believed to be either on foot or in a car.

Source

Israeli Jets Scramble – Hijack Alert Activated By Mistake

Israeli fighter jets were scrambled to escort a Delta Air Lines plane flying from New York to Tel Aviv after the pilot activated a hijacking alert by mistake.

Transportation ministry official, Dani Shenar, told Israeli media Saturday that nobody was hurt in the incident.

He said two jets hovered briefly over the plane carrying over 100 people and escorted it safely to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.

A technical malfunction had prevented the pilot from communicating with the airport’s control tower.

The transportation ministry said it will launch an investigation.

Source

Al-Qaeda Terrorist Prisoners Plotted To Escape In Hijacked Helicopter – UK

Al-Qaeda terrorists in a British jail were caught planning to escape in a hijacked helicopter.

Accomplices on the outside were to hire the helicopter for “business” then force the pilot to land in prison at gunpoint.

Nine Muslim inmates plotted to kidnap the jail imam during prayers with weapons hidden in the prison mosque.

According to the plan they would then move to a sports field using the imam as a shield and be picked up by the helicopter.

Wardens at Full Sutton prison in Yorkshire, acting on a tip-off, went to the plotters’ cells hours before the escape attempt was due to start.

The nine, including convicted terrorists, will now be transferred to other jails.

A source told the Sun: “This would have been one of the most damaging escapes ever. The intelligence was very strong and from a good source. It had to be acted on immediately.

“It involved some of the most dangerous al-Qaeda terrorists in jail, all of whom are a massive threat. It had been planned for months and the use of a helicopter shows it was sophisticated.”

Source