A US law enforcement official said there have been no arrests in the United
States connected to the plot.
A senior US counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of
people and as many as 50 were involved or connected to the overseas plot that
was unraveled Wednesday evening. The plan "had a footprint to al-Qaida back to
it," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the situation.
It was not believed to be connected to the Egyptian students who disappeared
in the United States more than a week ago before reaching a college they were
supposed to attend in Montana. Three of the 11 have since been found and the FBI
has said neither they nor the still-missing eight are believed to be a threat.
The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in carryon
luggage, the official said. "They were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were
very close to traveling, the official said, calling the plot "the real deal."
U.S. intelligence has been working closely with the British on the
investigation, which has been ongoing for months, the second official said.
Authorities have not yet arrested or detained all suspects who are believed
to be involved in the plot, the official said, prompting Chertoff's alarm.
"Consistent with these higher threat levels, the Transportation Security
Administration is coordinating with federal partners, airport authorities and
commercial airlines on expanding the intensity of existing security
requirements," Chertoff said.
"Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are
prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being
carried on the airplane."
He said the changes take effect at 4 a.m. local time across the United States
and will be undated as warranted.
The metal detector and X-ray machines at airport security checkpoints cannot
detect explosives. At many, but not all airport checkpoints, the TSA has
deployed walkthrough "sniffer" or "puffer" machines that can detect explosives
residue.
As part of the foiled Bojinka Plot to blow up 12 Western airliners
simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1990s, terrorist mastermind
Ramzi Youssef planned to put together an improvised bomb using liquid in a
contact lens solution container.
Chertoff said travelers in the United States "should also anticipate
additional security measures within the airport and at screening checkpoints."
