Three British men guilty of airline bomb plot

Three Britons were found guilty on Monday of plotting to kill thousands by blowing up transatlantic airliners bound for North America in mid-flight suicide attacks using bombs made from liquid explosives, Reuters reported.

The suspected al Qaeda plot, just days from being put into operation according to British detectives, had huge worldwide ramifications leading to tight restrictions on the amount of liquids passengers could take on board aircraft.

Four other men were found not guilty of the plot and the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of an eighth suspect, Britain's Press Association reported.

The bombers intended to simultaneously destroy at least seven planes carrying over 200 passengers each between London's Heathrow airport and the United States and Canada in August 2006 using explosives hidden in soft drink bottles, prosecutors said.

The conspirators were caught before they could put their plan into action following the largest counter-terrorism operation ever carried out by British police.

London police chief Paul Stephenson said at the time the men's intent was to cause "mass murder on an unimaginable scale," while a senior British police source said they could have killed thousands on board and more people if they had detonated the bombs over land.

U.S. officials have said the carnage would have been as horrific as the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed 3,000 people and had huge repercussions for the aviation industry.

Prosecutors said the plot centered on seven flights from Heathrow's Terminal 3, each capable of carrying between 241 and 285 passengers.

But recorded conversations between some of the men, British Muslims, suggested other terminals and possibly 18 suicide bombers might have been involved, while targets such as gas terminals and oil refineries were mentioned.