British Terror Plot: Four ‘Islamists’ Planned to Try to Blow Up a Toilet

Captures Touted as 'Triumph of Electronic Surveillance'

Four British citizens, referred to as Islamists by some reports, have confessed to making vague plans to blow up a toilet at the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The four reportedly got the idea from Inspire Magazine, released online by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Although blowing up a toilet normally falls into the category of “teenage hijinks,” the AQAP mention combined with their Muslim identity turned the plan into a “major terrorist plot.”

Media hysteria appears to be taking hold. Some reports claim that the four were planning to “blow up the London Stock Exchange” or were “plotting Mumbai-style attacks in London.” Presumably, the four considered other targets, including the US Embassy, before settling on the toilet.

Moreover, even the plan to blow up a toilet appears to have been speculative. The four had not acquired even the inexpensive fireworks needed for such a mission, and one of them reportedly called for simply starting a fire, while another said that actually blowing up a toilet would be a “bonus.

Still and all, experts insist that the capture was a “triumph for the electronic surveillance of homes, cars, and computer memory sticks on which British intelligence prides itself.” LSE brokers who have to use the restroom will be free to do so safely.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.