As luck would have it, luck saved NYC's subway commuters

The New York City subway bombing plot was just five days away from being consummated when it was discovered.

The suicide attack, planned to mark last year’s anniversary of the September 11 attacks was to be the biggest plot in the US since 2001.

Previous reports had suggested that the men were under surveillance by the FBI for some time before their planned attacks but sources now say the plot came close to success.

The plot was only foiled when one of the men emailed an al-Qaeda fixer in Pakistan to ask for advice on mixing chemicals, security sources on both sides of the Atlantic have told The Daily Telegraph.

Three men were allegedly planning to strap bombs to themselves and attack the underground with coordinated explosions planned to emulate those on London five years ago.

The lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands of New York subway riders were saved by the faulty memory of a would-be jihadist and his failure to take notes.

The New York investigation began on September 6 2009 when an Afghan-born man brought up in Queen’s, New York also began emailing [the 'fixer'] Sohaib.

Najibullah Zazi was desperate to be reminded of his bomb-making instructions from a visit to Pakistan a year earlier.

He had already bought hydrogen peroxide and other bomb-making chemicals but wanted to know what proportions to use.

Luck is a good ally but a highly capricious one. Better to de-fang the Pakistani jihadi networks -- which may entail forcing their supporters in Pakistan's government and military to cut them off. As messy and difficult as that may be, it is likely a necessary precondition for stopping plots of this type at the source.

How to cripple an industrialized economy - no bombs required

A suspicious package forced the closure of a terminal at Heathrow Airport and cancellation of over 100 flights.

The departure lounge has been partially evacuated

Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4 has reopened after a suspect bag sparked a security alert.

The Metropolitan Police said it was dealing with the item which was found at the terminal just before midday.

But thousands of departing passengers are facing long delays as airport officials begin re-screening them.

All international flights from the terminal were cancelled until the evening while all European flights have been cancelled until further notice.

The alert comes after failed terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow....

A spokesperson said: "We have had to cancel 108 flights in total.

"Our flights to and from Terminal 1 at Heathrow are operating, but with some delays."

Isn't that swell? But wait - there's more!

Earlier on Tuesday a controlled explosion was carried out on a suspect device near Hammersmith Tube station.

During the morning rush-hour the station in west London and surrounding roads were closed when a suspect device was found at about 0825 BST.

There was an unconfirmed report the suspect objects had turned out to be three abandoned fire extinguishers.

Up to 8,000 commuters were forced to find alternative routes into work as Hammersmith and Barons Court stations were closed for an hour.

There were also severe delays for motorists as Hammersmith Broadway was closed between King Street and Shepherd's Bush Road as well as Hammersmith Bridge.

What does it all mean? Well, it means that all the Islamofascists have to do to shut down Britain's capital is to leave knapsacks and briefcases casually unattended in airport terminals and at Tube stations. No bombs required: the extra precautions that these suspicious packages will trigger will shut down transport and cost the economy billions of pounds.