LONDON — Eight British Muslims plotted to kill thousands of people by blowing up at least seven transatlantic planes in midair with liquid bombs disguised as soft drinks, a prosecutor said at their trial Tuesday.
Lawyer Peter Wright said the men planned to smuggle the bomb ingredients aboard jets bound from Britain to North America disguised as “soft-drinks bottles, batteries and other innocuous items” carried in hand luggage.
“They were to be detonated in-flight by suicide bombers,” including several of the accused, Wright said.
The men, ages 22 to 30, deny conspiracy to murder. But Wright said they were close to carrying out their plan when they were arrested in August 2006.
The arrests led to travel chaos as hundreds of flights were grounded and thousands of people had their trips disrupted. They also triggered massive changes to airport security — including restrictions on carrying liquids.
Wright said police had found videos of six of the defendants that appeared to have been intended to be played after their deaths. On one, defendant Umar Islam said he was prepared to “die and kill” for Allah, and claimed the attack was “revenge for the actions of the U.S.A. in the Muslim lands.”
The trial began Tuesday and is expected to last 10 months.
