[Al Arabiya Latest] Three Britons were found guilty on Monday of plotting to kill thousands by blowing up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives, in near-simultaneous attacks aimed to cause massive loss of life. Ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali was found guilty of conspiring to murder thousands in the plot, whose discovery triggered wide-ranging new rules on carrying liquids on commercial aircraft. Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, were found guilty on the same charges of plotting to carry out bombings on aircraft flying from London's Heathrow airport to the United States and Canada.
The three men were previously found guilty of conspiracy to murder, but the jury in their first trial could not decide on charges that they had plotted to kill people by bringing down airliners.
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 in August 2006 using explosives hidden in soft drink bottles, prosecutors said.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson hailed the verdicts, saying: "I am pleased that the jury has recognized that there was a plot to bomb transatlantic flights and that three people have been convicted of that plot."