How another 9/11 was prevented just five years later
What if, just five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, seven flights departing London’s Heathrow Airport for five American cities and two Canadian cities mysteriously exploded over the Atlantic Ocean? What if this terrorist attack took place in the space of just three hours? What if the United Kingdom had detected no explosives either in the carry-on or checked luggage of the passengers?
TL;DR
- A major terrorist plot targeting seven flights from London to the U.S. and Canada in 2006 was narrowly averted.
- The plot involved liquid explosives hidden in soda bottles and detonators in batteries.
- British authorities, with U.S. pressure, arrested the plotters, preventing a disaster that could have killed 1,500-2,000 people.
- The incident led to the current airport restrictions on carry-on liquids.
- After initial trial setbacks, 10 individuals were convicted, and the plot's mastermind was killed in a CIA drone strike.