Eight Charged In UK Terror Plot
Eleven suspects in the alleged UK airport terror plot have been charged.
Police have also revealed that they found bomb-making equipment and martyrdom videos during their investigations.
They said eight people had been charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism.
The three other suspects are charged with other offences under the Terrorism Act. One of these is a 17-year-old.
One woman has been released without charge and eleven others are still in custody.
Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Peter Clarke said the investigation was “immense” and would go on for many months.
“I would like to reassure the public that we are doing everything we can to keep you safe … however we must be realistic,” he said.
He added: “The threat from terrorism is real. It is here, it is deadly and it is enduring.”
There have been a lot of questions about just how imminent these attacks were. Given that the police have found “martyrdom videos” for these suspects I think we can conclude that they were pretty dang imminent.
A martyrdom video is a recording Islamic suicide attackers make of themselves declaring their fealty to their cause and explaining why they’re doing what they’re doing (i.e. blowing themselves up to attack the “great satan” of the west, etc., etc.). They make these recordings just before the launch the attack itself. If some of the attacks had already made their videos the attacks were probably coming in weeks not months.
