(Newswire.net — December 2, 2014) — A terrorist bomb plot is in progress in Europe, security sources have told the UK’s Sunday Express newspaper. The plot is to smuggle bombs onto several planes traveling to major European cities. According to the sources, the attack should happen before Christmas.
“We’ve been told that five planes are being targeted in a high profile hit before Christmas. They’ve been waiting for the big one,” a high-ranking airport security source told the Sunday Express.
There are no details only the information that alerted authorities who are considering banning all hand luggage as a countermeasure. Experts believe that extreme security measures affecting millions of travelers are impossible to implement.
According to the insider, the attacks are expected on major European destinations. The source told the Sunday Express that the US has improved their security over the summer but Europes largest airports have fallen behind. That’s why Europe has become a major target.
“Everyone is expecting something catastrophic very soon,” the source said.
The UK source explained, “There is paralysis because of the difficulty of banning hand luggage which is one of the strongest weapons we have against the new threats.”
“There is likely to have been dry runs already with terrorists testing airport security,” said a risk expert Sally Leivesley.
“Efforts to ban all electronic devices including computers from business class passengers which reap huge revenue for the airlines are nearly unsustainable in their business model”, she said.
Leivesley explained, “that even a mobile phone in the hold is capable of being used as a trigger for a bomb or used as a bomb in its own right.”
The success of ISIS and other jihadists in the Middle East and Africa inspire thousands of would-be terrorists. Authorities estimate that there are at least 500 UK citizens fighting for Islamist causes in Iraq and Syria. As UK citizens, they could travel back and cause a lot of damage.
The security services are looking across the board to thwart potential threats, according to Leivesley.
“It’s also more diverse in that not everybody’s affiliated to a particular group – some are self-starting groups and you do have individuals, perhaps the “lone wolves” or the volatile individuals,” she added.