A London court has convicted three British Muslims of conspiring to
murder thousands of civilians by using liquid explosives to blow up
trans-Atlantic flights.
The court found ringleader Abdullah Ahmed Ali and co-defendants Assad
Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain guilty Monday in the 2006 plot, which
involved smuggling liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks on
flights.
The jury acquitted four other men who had been linked to the plot, and
failed to reach a verdict on the role of an eighth suspect, who had
been convicted earlier on a conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors say the defendants intended to make a "violent and deadly
statement" with the bombings, which could have involved seven flights
bound to North America from London. They say the attacks were being
planned by senior militants in Pakistan.
The foiled plot had huge ramifications for the airline industry and
brought sharp new restrictions for passengers carrying liquids and gels
on flights.
Many of those restrictions remain in effect today.
In an earlier trial, a jury convicted the men of a lesser charge of
conspiring to murder using liquid explosives. However, the panel said
it was not convinced the men intended to bring down planes.
All eight men initially linked to the case say they never intended to
bring down planes but, instead, wanted to unleash a series of harmless
stunt explosions.