Guide Note

The trial of eight men who allegedly planned to blow up a series of planes, in a large trans-Atlantic terror plot, began on April 3, 2008. The alleged plan included using home-made liquid bombs set to detonate on flights leaving Heathrow Airport in London.

The alleged plan was uncovered in 2006 and led to heightened airport security measures and flight delays for days. Originally, 24 suspects were arrested and questioned in connection with the plot.

Fast Facts

1. All eight men on trial have ties to Pakistan
2. Each airplane would have carried 241-285 passengers
3. Cities of targeted planes heading to Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, DC, New York, and Montreal
4. Prosecutors say the two top conspirators talked about targeting as many as 18 flights
5. Plot stopped just days before was to take place
6. Dozens of witnesses to be called

Five of the accused men plead guilty to lesser offensives on Monday, July 14, 2008. Ahmed Abdullah Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain admitted that they planned to set off bombs, but not on planes. Ibrahim Savant and Umar Islam admitted to "conspiring to cause a public nuisance" by making videos that threatened suicide bomb attacks.¹

The eight bombers on trial allegedly planned suicide missions which involved detonating homemade bombs after takeoff. U.K. security forces unraveled the plain after a extensive surveillance operation in August of 2006.

According to the prosecution, the accused planned to carry out coordinate attacks on at least seven planes. The alleged ringleaders of the operation are Ahmed Abdullah Ali, Assad Sarwar, and Mohammed Gulzar. The suspects planned to use homemade bombs made from hydrogen peroxide, and the soft drink mix Tang. The detonation would be accomplished by using a disposable camera and a device packed into the shell of a AA battery.

On May 13, 2008 prosecutors presented a video showing the explosion from the home-made bomb, known as a Tang Bomb. The explosion damaged one of the video cameras as well as the area constructed to contain the blasts. Terrorism experts have indicated that one such device would be enough to breach the hull of an airplane.