Indian hijack plot caused new UK terror alert

Fears that Islamist terrorists plan to hijack an Indian passenger jet and crash it into a British city helped to prompt this weekend’s heightened terror alert.
MI5 was told by the Indian authorities early last week about a suspected plot by militants linked to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan to hijack an Air India or Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai or Delhi.
The warning, which came after the capture of a suspected Islamic leader, was contained in a detailed “threat assessment” sent to MI5 by the Indian Intelligence Bureau. It did not state that Britain was a specific target. But police security sources said it had raised fears in London that a British city might be attacked.
The warning revived long-running concerns following an Al-Qaeda plot in 2003 in which a hijacked aircraft was to be flown into Heathrow airport. That incident led Tony Blair, then prime minister, to make the largely symbolic move of dispatching armoured vehicles to guard the airport perimeter.
The Indian government has increased passenger screening and frisking at all main airports. It is deploying additional armed sky marshals to deal with the threat.
The threat to hijack an Indian aircraft was uncovered during the interrogation of Amjad Khwaja, a member of a militant Islamist group involved in numerous attacks against India.
He was arrested in the southern city of Chennai earlier this month. He is said to be a leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, a militant group involved in terrorist attacks in India.
24/01/10 David Leppard/Times, UK

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010, Foreign Jan 2010, Safety Jan 2010