Britain sends troops to Heathrow Airport, citing terror threat

LONDON -- Britain boosted security in and around London Tuesday, deploying tanks and hundreds of troops at Heathrow Airport as police said terrorists could launch attacks timed to a Muslim holiday.

With fears of terrorism high ahead of a possible war on Iraq, police said they were adding patrols at possible targets in central London in response to "a potential threat to the capital."

Prime Minister Tony Blair authorized the operation, his Downing Street office said.

Soldiers wearing fatigues and carrying rifles patrolled passenger terminals, and light tanks and armored vehicles were stationed at the airport entrance and outside key buildings.

"From time to time, it is necessary to raise levels of security activity," Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement. "We think it is prudent to do so now."

"To avoid prejudicing ongoing operations we do not intend to give any further details of security arrangements, other than to say that this action is in line with the policy of taking whatever action we believe necessary to protect the public," the statement said.

Scotland Yard called the move "precautionary" and said it was tied to the possibility that al-Qaida and affiliated terror networks could use the end of the religious festival of Eid al-Adha as a pretext for attacks.

Police did not say how long the operation would last.

The holiday began Tuesday in Saudi Arabia and most Muslim communities continue celebrations for several more days.

Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of the Sacrifice," commemorates God's provision of a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son, and is considered one of Islam's most important holidays.

The Ministry of Defense said about 450 troops were being deployed and a police spokesman added that all would be stationed at Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport.

Scotland Yard also increased the number of police officers at Heathrow from 300 to 1,000, a police source said on condition of anonymity.

A police spokesman said it was the first time troops had been used to guard Heathrow since 1994, when the Irish Republican Army tried to mortar-bomb the runways.

Officers reportedly searched vehicles near the village of Wraysbury in Berkshire, under a Heathrow flight path a few miles from the airport.

'Doesn't take an Einstein'

Chris Yates, of Jane's Airport Review, said the beefed-up security could be an effort to head off a surface-to-air missile attack like that aimed at a charter jetliner carrying Israeli tourists in Kenya last year.

"We can put all sorts of technology and security in airports, but it doesn't take an Einstein to work out that you can park around the perimeter and launch something like a missile," he said.

Blair's official spokesman said officials were taking action they believed was necessary to protect Britons.

"The public recognize that the threat from international terrorism is real and that the government has to make judgments and respond accordingly," he said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.

Britain is Washington's main ally in its confrontation with Iraq and the new security measure comes after America on Friday raised its terror alert from yellow, or elevated risk, to orange, high risk.

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, said it was insulting to suggest Muslims would use a holy period to justify violence.

And Zaki Badawi, director of the Muslim College, accused officials of raising the alert to create fear and whip up support for an offensive against Iraq.

"The government is trying to build up tension in preparation for war," he charged.