Britain convicts 3 in liquid bomb plot

Four other men were found not guilty of the plot and the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of an eighth suspect,Press Association reported.

The bombers intended to simultaneously destroy at least seven planes carrying over 200 passengers each between Londons Heathrow airport and the US and Canada in August 2006 using explosives hidden in soft drink bottles,prosecutors said.

The conspirators were caught before they could put their plan into action following the largest counter-terrorism operation carried out by British police.

London police chief Paul Stephenson said the mens intent was to cause mass murder on an unimaginable scale,while a senior British police source said they could have killed thousands on board and more people if they had detonated the bombs over land.

US officials have said the carnage would have been as horrific as the September 11,2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed 3,000 people and had huge repercussions for the aviation industry. Recorded conversations between some of the men,British Muslims,suggested other terminals and possibly 18 suicide bombers might have been involved.

The plot was hatched in Pakistan just months before the men were arrested in August 2006. Police suspect that al-Qaeda planner,Egyptian Abu Obaidah al Masri,who inspired the deadly July 7,2005 suicide bombings in London,was the mastermind.

The British ringleader was Abdulla Ahmed Ali,28,while Assad Sarwar,29,gathered the bomb ingredients at his home in High Wycombe.