Failed terrorism plots

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Failed terrorism plots are terrorist plots that have either been foiled, uncovered by authorities or failed through mistakes.

2001[edit]

Shoe bomb attempt[edit]

This section is an excerpt from American Airlines Flight 63 (2001).[edit]
N384AA, the aircraft involved, 11 years after the incident

On December 22, 2001, a failed shoe bombing attempt occurred aboard American Airlines Flight 63. The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300ER (registration N384AA) with 197 passengers and crew aboard, was flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, to Miami International Airport in the U.S. state of Florida.

The perpetrator, Richard Reid, was subdued by passengers after unsuccessfully attempting to detonate plastic explosives concealed within his shoes. The flight was diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston, escorted by American jet fighters, and landed without further incident. Reid was arrested and eventually sentenced to three life terms plus 110 years, without parole.

2002[edit]

Wood Green ricin plot[edit]

Main article: Wood Green ricin plot

2003[edit]

Tyler poison gas plot[edit]

The Tyler poison gas plot was a domestic terrorism plot in Tyler, Texas, United States. It was thwarted in April 2003 with the arrest of William J. Krar, Judith Bruey (Krar's common-law wife) and Edward Feltus and the seizure of a cyanide gas bomb along with a large arsenal that included at least 100 other conventional bombs, machine guns, an assault rifle, an unregistered silencer, and 500,000 rounds of ammunition.[1] The chemical stockpile seized included sodium cyanide, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and acetic acid.

The three individuals were linked to white supremacist and anti-government groups.[1] Feltus was a member of the New Jersey Militia while Krar was suspected of making his living traveling across the country selling bomb components and other weapons to violent underground anti-government groups.[1] Federal authorities had been watching Krar since at least 1995 when ATF agents investigated a possible plot to bomb government buildings, but he was not charged at the time. Since the September 11 attacks, their attention was focused on middle-eastern terrorist activities and were only alerted to Krar's recent activities by accident when he mailed Feltus a package of counterfeit birth certificates from North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and United Nations Multinational Force and Defense Intelligence Agency IDs. The package was mistakenly delivered to a Staten Island man who alerted police.[1]

On May 4, 2004, Krar was sentenced to 135 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to building and possessing chemical weapons. Ms. Bruey was sentenced to 57 months after pleading to "conspiracy to possess illegal weapons".[2]

2005[edit]

Sydney terrorism plot[edit]

Main article: 2005 Sydney terrorism plot

Five men were arrested in late 2005 in Sydney, Australia and charged over a terrorism-plot they planned between July 2004 and November 2005. Each pleaded not guilty to the charges.[3] Police searches of their homes discovered instructions on bomb-making, 28,000 rounds of ammunition (including 11,000 rounds of 7.62×39mm), 12 rifles, militant Islamic literature, and footage of Islamic beheadings as well as footage of the aircraft crashing into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. According to the prosecution, the men purchased explosive chemicals and guns between July 2004 and November 2005.[4][5]

The five were found guilty on 16 October 2009 and were jailed on 15 February 2010 for terms ranging from 23 to 28 years.[6] The trial was one of Australia's longest and involved approximately 300 witnesses and 3,000 exhibits, including 18 hours of telephone intercepts and 30 days of surveillance tapes, which has overtaken the record previously held by the liquidation of Bell Group.[7]

2006[edit]

2007[edit]

2009[edit]

Raleigh jihad group[edit]

Main article: Raleigh jihad group

Seven men were arrested on July 27, 2009 near Raleigh, North Carolina on charges of participating in a conspiracy to commit "violent jihad" outside the United States. An eighth man named in the indictment, believed to be in Pakistan, has not been arrested.[8] The alleged leader of the group, Daniel Patrick Boyd, was accused of recruiting the other seven men, including two of his sons, to take part in a conspiracy “to advance violent jihad, including supporting and participating in terrorist activities abroad and committing acts of murder, kidnapping or maiming persons abroad.”[9]

At their detention hearings, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Webb ruled that all were to be held without bond until trial.[10]

2010[edit]

Ottawa arrests[edit]

On 25 August 2010, seven individuals were arrested in Ottawa and London, Ontario on terrorism-related charges.[11] It was the culmination of Project Samosa, a year-long probe by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which identified eight members of a cell targeting government buildings on Parliament Hill.

Operation Guava terror plot[edit]

Main article: Operation Guava

Also known as the "London Stock Exchange bomb plot",[12] nine conspirators were arrested in December 2010 for plotting a terrorist attack;[13] they all eventually pleaded guilty, and eight were convicted of engaging in preparation for acts of terrorism.[14] One of the convicts, Usman Khan, had his sentence reduced on appeal by Lord Justice Leveson.[15][16] He became Cambridge University's "poster boy for Britain's anti-radicalisation strategy", but he went on to perpetrate the 2019 London Bridge stabbing.[17][18]

2020[edit]

Brexit Day bomb plot[edit]

Main article: Brexit Day bomb plot

On 31 January 2020, the day the United Kingdom was to withdraw from the European Union, the Police Service of Northern Ireland received two anonymous tips that a bomb inside a lorry would be on a ferry heading from Belfast Harbour to Cainryan, Scotland.[19] While the explosive device was not found at the harbour, or detonated, it would be found on 5 February inside a lorry on the Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland after a search of 400 lorries; it was then disarmed by a bomb disposal team. While the perpetrator(s) remain unknown, the PSNI suspects the involvement of the Continuity Irish Republican Army, which would make the bombing part of the Dissident Irish Republican campaign.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Riggs, Robert (November 26, 2003). "WMD Plot Uncovered In East Texas". Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "US DOJ: PRISON SENTENCE FOR POSSESSING CHEMICAL WEAPONS" (PDF). May 4, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  3. ^ "Terror accused 'desensitised' themselves". Nine News. 2008-11-12. Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  4. ^ "Terror trial begins in Australia". USA Today. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  5. ^ Neighbour, Sally (16 February 2010). "Anger, venom and hatred". The Australian. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  6. ^ Perry, Michael (2010-02-15). "Five Australians jailed for jihad plot". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  7. ^ "Sydney jihadists guilty of terrorism plot". ABC News. 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  8. ^ Ahlers, Mike (5 August 2009). "No bail for 'jihad' suspects despite judge's skepticism". CNN. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  9. ^ Mackey, Robert (28 July 2009). "Americans Arrested for Plotting 'Violent Jihad' Abroad". New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  10. ^ Baker, Mike (5 August 2009). "7 NC men charged as international "jihad" group". A.P. Retrieved 14 August 2009.[dead link]
  11. ^ Macleod, Ian; Andrew Seymoure; Meghan Hurley (27 August 2010). "Eighth suspect sought in alleged homegrown terror plot". National Post. Postmedia. Retrieved 30 August 2010.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Chung, Alison; Mercer, David (2 December 2019). "Usman Khan's 2012 accomplice bomb plotter arrested after review of terrorists on licence". Sky News. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  13. ^ Simon Israel (27 December 2010). "Christmas 'terror plot' targeted London landmarks". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  14. ^ "The Terrorism Acts in 2012: report of the Independent Reviewer" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2019. three men from Stoke (Usman Khan, [...] Following their arrest in December 2010, all nine members of the network pleaded guilty
  15. ^ "Why was London Bridge attacker Usman Khan released?". Evening Express. Press Association. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  16. ^ Bird, Steve (30 November 2019). "Leveson ruling opened the door to killer's early release". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  17. ^ Tom Harper; Jon Ungoed-Thomas; Caroline Wheeler (1 December 2019). "London Bridge attack: poster boy for rehabilitation. And killer". The Times. Retrieved 3 December 2019. The poster boy for Britain's anti-radicalisation strategy turned up at the event with a hoax explosive device strapped to his chest
  18. ^ Hayley Dixon; Victoria Ward; Greg Wilford (1 December 2019). "London bridge attacker was poster boy for rehab scheme he targeted". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Learning Together, a Cambridge University programme, worked with Usman Khan in prison and after his release and used him as a case study to show how they helped prisoners
  19. ^ "Police investigate Brexit Day plot to bomb Irish Sea ferry". Sky News. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  20. ^ "Police say CIRA bomb was for 'Brexit day' attack". BBC News. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
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