Qaeda members were arrested Thursday morning in what Norwegian and US officials said was a terrorist plot linked to similar plans in New York and England. The three men, whose names were not released, had been under surveillance for more than a year. Officials believe they were planning attacks with portable but powerful bombs like the ones at the heart of last year's thwarted suicide attack in the New York City subway. US Attorney General Eric Holder has called that one of the most serious terrorist plots since 9/11. On Wednesday, prosecutors revealed the existence of a related plot in Manchester, England. Officials believe the Norway plan was organized by Salah Al-Somali, Al-Qaeda's former chief of external operations, the man in charge of plotting attacks worldwide. Al-Somali, who was killed in a CIA drone airstrike last year, has been identified in US court documents as one of the masterminds of the New York subway plot. Two men have pleaded guilty in that case, admitting they planned to detonate explosives during rush hour. A third man awaits trial. Officials said it was not clear the men had selected a target for the attacks but they were attempting to make peroxide bombs, the powerful homemade explosives that prosecutors say were attempted in both New York and England. US and Norwegian counterterrorism officials worked closely together to unravel the Norwegian plot.
