Plot to Bomb U.S.-Bound Jets Is Foiled

Travelers swarmed ticket counters, awaiting word on their flights. Thousands of stranded passengers flooded local hotels and jockeyed for seats on crowded trains to France, Belgium and Switzerland.

"This is the way of life now," said Craig Burgess, a UNICEF employee who got stranded at Heathrow and went into London to try to catch a train to Paris or Geneva so he could continue on to New Delhi to join his family. "I understand the caution and the safety. You'd rather have this happen than something tragic," he said.

Muslim community leaders in Britain expressed skepticism that a grand plot by Muslims had been discovered. They noted that most other alleged conspiracies announced by British police unraveled for lack of proof. Leaders said they feared a renewed Islamophobia.

Mohammad Naseem, chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque -- close to the scene of some of Thursday's raids -- said the community reaction was "dismay and anxiety. People have lost trust in politicians. All we are asking for is proof."

Ahmed Versi, editor of Britain's Muslim News, said hate mail had already started pouring into his office over the Internet on Thursday morning, saying Muslims were unwelcome in Britain. "Muslims are worried they may face physical attacks," he said in a telephone interview.

On quiet two-lane Walton Drive in High Wycombe, west of London, police raided a two-story brick duplex. Police officers stood sentry on either end of the block and in front of the house at No. 36 throughout the day; blue-and-white police tape kept people off the small patch of lawn and flowers in front of the glass front door. Inside, investigators in light-colored hazard suits inspected the home.

People on the street said at least six people lived in the house, including two brothers in their twenties who frequently played soccer at a local park. The people in the house were described as pleasant, if reserved.

"They don't seem like terrorists, they are family people. They never had any trouble with the neighbors," said neighbor Kamran Haider, 25. "I wouldn't suspect them to be involved in any criminal activity."

DeYoung reported from Washington. Staff writers Dafna Linzer, Anushka Asthana and Dan Eggen and researcher Julie Tate in Washington and special correspondents Kamran Khan in Karachi, Pakistan, and Corinne Gavard in Paris contributed to this report.