Pakistan Links Al-qaida's Number Two to Plot

Pakistan believes the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets was sanctioned by al-Qaida's second in command, it was reported today.

The Associated Press, quoting senior intelligence officials, said interrogations of suspects in custody in Pakistan had indicated Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's "number two", had probably cleared the plot.

Al-Zawahiri has shown considerable interest in terrorist attacks relating to the UK, issuing video and audio statements last August and this July blaming British foreign policy for the July 7 attacks and claiming that bombers Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan had been trained by al-Qaida.

Investigators have concentrated over the past week on connections between the alleged plotters and Pakistan.

Rashid Rauf, a British citizen from Birmingham arrested in Pakistan shortly before last week's police operation and believed to be related to one of the arrested men, has been described by authorities in Pakistan and the UK as a key planner behind the suspected plot.

The reports follow claims in Pakistani newspapers that al-Qaida's number three, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, had been identified as the planner of the alleged plot.

Mr al-Libbi was arrested and handed over to the US government in May 2005, so if he is found to have been involved it would suggest that the alleged plot had been hatched more than 12 months ago.

UK police continue searches

In the UK, searches continued today at a number of residential and business premises across London, the West Midlands and Thames Valley.
The most high profile of those was at King's Wood in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, where specialist officers were combing woodland for traces of explosives, or evidence of explosive tests.

Last night in London, district judges gave anti-terrorist police extensions to continue holding 23 of the 24 suspects arrested in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham last week. A 25th person, arrested on Tuesday by Thames Valley police, was released without charge last night. Another suspect was released last week.

The alleged plot was disrupted by British anti-terror police and security services last Thursday, and there has been a state of heightened security on transatlantic flights.

US officials confirmed today that a 59-year-old American woman arrested over a mid-air "passenger disturbance" on a US-bound flight from Heathrow yesterday was carrying banned items.

There had been conflicting reports about what Catherine Mayo had in her handbag after United Airlines flight 923 was forced to divert to Boston.

Today, as 59-year-old Mayo, from Vermont, was expected to appear in court charged with interfering with a flight crew, Boston FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said she had been carrying hand lotion, a screwdriver, matches and an unspecified number of cigarette lighters.

Liquids and lotions have been restricted on transatlantic flights because the alleged terror plotters were thought to be planning to use a liquied-based explosive.

Two terror arrests at port in Wales

A man and woman were arrested at a north Wales port last week under the Terrorism Act, police revealed today after successfully applying to magistrates for a custody extension.

The 47-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were arrested at Holyhead port, on the Isle of Anglesey, on Friday. A spokeswoman for North Wales police said the arrests had not been disclosed earlier "for operational reasons".

She said: "No threat was posed to passengers and staff at Holyhead Port as a result of the arrests."

The deputy chief constable of North Wales police, Clive Wolfendale, said the arrests were not directly linked to last week's alleged foiled bomb plot, but added that officers were keeping "an open mind".