International cooperation

New weapons don’t make foiled attack cause for alarm

Last week we learned that Australian security services had managed to disrupt an alleged terrorist plot involving the planting of a bomb aboard a Middle Eastern airliner — as well as the use of deadly hydrogen sulfide gas.

The plotters intended to place an improvised explosive device on board an Etihad Airways flight — many of which can carry more than 500 people. They also planned to release deadly chemicals in a confined space, “potentially on public transport,” authorities said.

Just thinking about an attack like this taking place on a commercial aircraft is horrific enough — the fact that the plotters were allegedly trying to use a chemical weapon as well suggests a significant escalation in the ambition of terrorists.

It is heartening that British and Australian intelligence services, working together, picked up the traces of this potential attack just in time. Chemicals, due to their signature, are usually rather easier to identify than other explosives. However, a small amount of hydrogen sulfide could easily be passed off as an innocuous substance and would need specialist equipment to detect it.