The Rest Is Classified – Episode 126

Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: The Terror Attack That Never Happened (Ep 2)
Release Date: February 11, 2026
Hosts: David McCloskey (A) & Gordon Corera (B)

Episode Overview

In this gripping second installment on the foiled 2006 “liquid bomb plot,” hosts David McCloskey and Gordon Corera take listeners deep inside the MI5 investigation that unraveled a sophisticated Al Qaeda plan to destroy multiple transatlantic flights using homemade liquid explosives. The episode explores the technical, investigative, and geopolitical dimensions of the plot, the intense surveillance and counterterror work by British authorities, the shadowy figures orchestrating events from afar, and the high-stakes intelligence dance between the UK and US agencies as the threat loomed.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Surveillance Breakthrough & Bomb-Making Revelations

[00:40–09:58]

• MI5 gains real-time audio and video surveillance on a suspicious East London flat where group leader Abdullah Ahmed Ali and associates are assembling bomb components.
  • “MI5 can now see and hear what's happening inside in real time. And without that access, none of the other bits of information and intelligence would make sense.” – Gordon (01:36)
• Surveillance footage shows men using drink bottles (Oasis, Lucozade), Tang powder, syringes, and batteries in protracted sessions of assembly.
• Technical details observed:
  • Drilling holes in bottles from the bottom to insert liquids (hydrogen peroxide) while leaving seals intact.
  • Hollowing out imported ("Pakistani") batteries (easier to open than British brands) and filling them with a primary explosive (HMTD).
  • Using a Maglite bulb filament and disposable camera flash circuits for detonation.
  • Tang is revealed to be a coloring agent to mimic original drinks, helping disguise the liquid explosives.
• Critical moment captured:
  • Ali and Tanvir Hussain overheard saying: “That's the boom, mate. The boom.” (03:13)

Notable Quote:

“Why was he importing a load of batteries? It's because the ones in Pakistan are easier to open up and turn effectively into empty cases. They're less solid.”
— Gordon (07:15)

Cliffhanger: Why engineer such small, covert bombs, just 1/40th the strength of those used in the 2005 London attacks?

2. Al Qaeda’s Mastermind & The Origins of the Plot

[11:03–19:33]

• Focus shifts to the plot’s mastermind: Rashid Rauf, a Briton with deep ties to both the UK and jihadist circles in Pakistan.
  • Rauf becomes a “talent scout” for Al Qaeda, identifying and recruiting British radicals for operations.
  • Strategic shift after 7/7 bombings: difficulty obtaining bomb materials in the UK led to plans for importing liquid explosives, inspired by weaknesses in airport security.
  • Rauf’s "brainwave": Why not just take the solution onto planes and detonate them mid-flight?
  • Plot evolved into attempting to smuggle disguised hydrogen peroxide bombs in ordinary drink bottles onto airplanes for in-air assembly and detonation.

Notable Quotes:

“Ralph and Abu Ubaidah see the value of Ali in going back to the UK. They can see he's pretty smart. And, you know, Ralph will later write, he was a very clever, patient brother and a natural leader.”
— Gordon (13:47)

“The first idea is to ship the concentrated hydrogen peroxide to the UK for use in bombs in bottles marked rose water, which looked unopened. And then, of course, he has this kind of brainwave, a really dark one, though. If you can smuggle it onto the plane... could you actually take it on a plane and then detonate it on a plane and find a way to use that to blow up a plane?”
— Gordon (15:25)

3. Operational Security & Communications

[19:33–21:41]

• The plotters used advanced tradecraft:
  • Coded phone numbers (number subtraction code), “voice changer” requests, multiple email addresses under aliases.
  • Example: Aftershave (“Calvin Klein”) was code for hydrogen peroxide; payment amounts indicated strength/concentration.
  • Rashid Rauf micromanaged operations from Pakistan, maintaining frequent, secure contact.

Memorable Exchange:

“He even asks Sawa for a voice changer because he's worried about interception. And I think the point is Ralph in Pakistan is micromanaging the plot, especially the making of the explosives.”
— Gordon (19:46)

4. MI5 Discovers the Plot’s Target – The Planes

[21:41–25:42]

• Surveillance overhears specific conversation about US cities: “New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas…” (21:57).
• Forensic analysis of the bomb components (by DSTL weapons labs) confirms it could blow a hole in an aircraft midair, causing catastrophic decompression.
• Conversation hints at intent for multiple attackers; a tally to 19 attackers would match 9/11's scale.
• The plan: Window of ~2.5 hours with seven direct flights from London to the US/Canada. Aim to detonate bombs mid-Atlantic, complicating response and forensics, maximizing terror.

Notable Quotes:

“As we see them in the kitchen...the surveillance overhears the men talking about American cities, including New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, where you are, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles. And it started to become clear that this is to do with the US and it's to do with aircraft.”
— Gordon (21:49)

“You would probably not recover the wreckage for a very long time, if ever. And so there'd be no forensics to understand why the plane had gone down. It would've probably ground global aviation to a complete halt, not for, like, a day, but for a while...potentially on the scale of or greater than 9/11.”
— David (24:17, 24:35)

5. Imminence & Final Preparations

[25:42–31:05]

• MI5 and police observe increasingly concrete steps:
  • Pre-recorded “martyrdom” (or “wedding”) videos detected from inside the flat.
  • Plotters fill out new passport applications, discuss bringing a baby to appear innocuous.
  • Ali, in a watched internet café, researches baggage restrictions, one-way flight times to US and Canada, and notes seven flights over a tight window.
  • Coded emails to Rauf report “prep” is done, only “opening timetable and bookings” left.
• The surveillance team detects Ali and a partner recording a live martyrdom video—a chilling sign of attack readiness.

Memorable Moment:

“Literally, literally looking over his shoulder, is a police surveillance officer.”
— David (28:03)
(Describing a surveillance officer observing Ali in an internet café as he researched flights)

6. Transatlantic Tension: CIA’s Looming Role

[31:05–32:34]

• The US intelligence community enters the story as American cities emerge as targets.
• Teaser for next episode: The sometimes fraught intelligence relationship and power imbalance between CIA and MI5/MI6 as the pressure mounts to act before the plot is executed.

Notable Quotes:

“...we're going to see in these next few episodes, I think, the intelligence relationship between the two countries really at work. How it works. How sometimes there can be incredible tension...Even you're going to admit this is a tricky one.”
— David (31:41–31:51)

“...when we come back next time, we will see how this all unfolds and how the CIA and the Brits eventually cooperate to stop it.”
— David (32:14)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “That's the boom, mate. The boom.” — Surveillance capture of plotters (03:13)
• “Why do terrorists always buy one way tickets? It's super suspicious.” — David (29:29)
• “You would probably not recover the wreckage for a very long time, if ever.” — David (24:35)
• “Literally, literally looking over his shoulder, is a police surveillance officer.” — David (28:03)
• “He even asks Sawa for a voice changer because he's worried about interception.” — Gordon (19:46)
• “...If you did have nine planes, you're suddenly looking at a death toll comparable [to 9/11]” — Gordon (25:03)

Key Segment Timestamps

• Surveillance Breakthrough and Bomb-Making Activity: 01:36–09:58
• Origins and Mastermind of the Plot: 11:03–19:33
• Tradecraft, Codes, and Communications: 19:33–21:41
• MI5 Discovers Aviation Target, Stakes of the Attack: 21:41–25:42
• Final Preparations and Growing Imminence: 25:42–31:05
• Transatlantic Intelligence Cooperation/Rivalry Preview: 31:05–32:34

Conclusion

The episode lays out in methodical, suspenseful detail how British intelligence pieced together a plot that, if successful, would have been as devastating as 9/11. The hosts explain the tradecraft and improvisation of the would-be attackers, the technical and human intelligence breakthroughs, and the imminent danger posed by their advanced preparations. As the investigation reaches its climax, the hosts tee up the next episode’s focus on the British-American intelligence relationship and the race to ensure the attack never happens.

For more exclusive content and early access to the next episode, listeners are invited to join the Declassified Club at the restisclassified.com.