Charity Possible Front For Plot

Two of his sons are in British jails, accused in the plot to use liquid explosives that would have brought down at least ten transatlantic flights between Britain and the US. Now... 52-year old Abdul Rauf is himself under arrest... picked up in Pakistan as he boarded a flight to Birmingham, England over the weekend.

The Guardian newspaper reports Rauf is being questioned about his charitable organization, Crescent Relief. Authorities say the senior Rauf formed that organization to help victims of last year's earthquake in the Kashmir Province.

But there are reports at least some of the money he raised were diverted to the plot aimed at using liquid explosives to bring down those trans-Atlantic flights.

Abdul's 25-year-old son, Rashid, was arrested in Pakistan's Punjab State earlier this month. That arrest triggered the probe in England... which has so far netted 23 other suspects -- among them Abdul Rauf's other son, 22-year old Tayib.

As Aero-News reported Monday, 11 suspects were charged in connection with the alleged terror plot that aimed to bring down airliners flying from the United Kingdom to the US.

For now... airports around the world continue operating under new restrictions that prohibit passengers to carry on board liquid in almost any form.

FMI: http://crescentrelief.org/, www.met.police.uk/counter_terrorism/