British Court Convicts 3 in Liquid Explosives Plot

(07/09/2009) A London court has convicted three Britons of conspiring to murder thousands of civilians in a plot that involved using liquid explosives to blow up trans-Atlantic flights.

Undated frame grab taken from video described by British prosecutors as suicide video and provided by Metropolitan police, shows Abdullah Ahmed Ali

The court found ringleader Abdullah Ahmed Ali and co-defendants Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain guilty Monday in the 2006 plot, which involved smuggling liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks on flights.

The jury acquitted four other men who had been linked to the plot, and failed to reach a verdict on the role of an eighth suspect, who had been convicted earlier on a conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors say the defendants intended to make a "violent and deadly statement" with the bombings, which would have involved flights bound to North America from London.

The foiled plot had huge ramifications for the airline industry and brought sharp new restrictions for passengers carrying liquids and gels on flights.

Many of those restrictions remain in effect today.

In an earlier trial, a jury convicted the men of a lesser charge of conspiring to murder using liquid explosives. However, the panel said it was not convinced the men intended to bring down planes. (VoaNews)