LONDON, 20 August 2006 — Evidence, albeit circumstantial, seems to be gathering momentum against several of the 23 terror suspects arrested 10 days ago in Birmingham, London and High Wycombe for allegedly planning to blow up planes en route to US cities from major UK airports using liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks in hand luggage.

Following the reported discovery over the last few days of a “bombmaking kit” in a suitcase which contained “everything you would need to make an improvised device” in King’s Wood in High Wycombe; two firearms; 19,000 pounds in cash and liquids which could be used to make explosives at several addresses of suspects, Scotland Yard yesterday found several “martyrdom videos” in which several of the alleged plotters appear.

At the same time, the UK’s Charities Commission, the watchdog which monitors the country’s numerous registered charitable foundations, has started an investigation into the activities of Crescent Relief London, which supposedly collected money to help orphans in the aftermath of the devastating Pakistan earthquake last year, to find out possible links to the alleged terror plot.

The UK public donated some 30 million pounds for earthquake relief, much of it raised through collections at the UK’s 2,000 plus mosques and donated to locally based charities.

The BBC, quoting an “unofficial police source,” said the martyrdom recordings — discovered on laptop computers — appear to have been made by some of the suspects being questioned. At least six laptops impounded by police during their searches, according to sources, have yielded a cornucopia of extremist literature including the martyrdom videos.

However, some observers caution against jumping to any conclusions for the simple reason that extremist literature is now common on the Internet and can be downloaded easily.

Police are continuing to search woodland at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and 14 addresses. They have already completed searches of 36 business and residential sites and a total of 20 vehicles.

The alleged terror plot investigation involves members of each of the 51 police forces in the UK — one of the largest such investigations to be carried out in British criminal history.

Police have until tomorrow to hold two suspects and until Wednesday to detain the other 21 suspects, after which they either have to charge them or seek another week’s extension from a high court judge under the 2006 Terrorism Act.

Some 17 people are also being held in Pakistan over the alleged plot, with two British nationals of Pakistani descent among them. It was Pakistani officials who alerted MI5 and Scotland Yard about the alleged plot, which led to an unprecedented security clampdown at major UK airports and misery for thousands of travelers.

Scotland Yard yesterday confirmed that a team of its officers had flown to Pakistan to liaise with the authorities there over the questioning and possible extradition of Rashid Rauf to the UK. Rauf, whose brother Tayyib is one of the 23 suspects detained in the UK, is the only man who has so far been named by Pakistani authorities.

Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao speaking to the BBC stressed that Pakistan is working closely with Britain to determine links between those arrested in the two countries.

British police officers, however, would not have direct access to Rashid Rauf for interrogation. Although the two countries do not have a formal extradition treaty, it would still be possible to extradite Rauf to the UK, according to Sherpao. This, assuming London makes a formal request to extradite Rauf.

The investigation into Crescent Relief London, in fact, was precipitated by the fact that it was reportedly founded in 2000 by Abdul Rauf, the father of Rashid and Tayyib Rauf. According to local newspaper reports, Abdul Rauf stepped down from the charity’s board several years ago.

The suggestion may be that the charity has allegedly been hijacked by his sons and the other suspects, for funneling money into planning and carrying out the alleged terror plot.

The Times newspaper yesterday reported that Crescent Relief London was also operating out of High Wycombe by five of the arrested suspects then raising money for the earthquake relief effort.

Another Crescent Relief office in Walthamstow in East London, operated by some of the other suspects living in the area, prompted the yet unproven allegations of a suspected link between the charity and the alleged plotters.

Crescent Relief London, in a statement, stressed that Rauf was no longer involved with the charity, which sent 100,000 pounds to Pakistan for earthquake relief.

The statement also welcomed the Charities Commission probe and urged any inquiry to be rigorous to establish whether the money was indeed used to relieve poverty or whether it was diverted for other purposes.

The Charities Commission, a government agency that regulates charities’ activities, said it was aware of the claims that the terror suspects were linked to Crescent Relief.

In another development, Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent Simon Humphrey has warned that claims that police are discriminating against Muslims is hindering the fight against terrorism.

Humphrey told the Daily Mail: “A small, extremely vocal and potentially very influential minority are trying to hijack the terrorism issue and turn it into a debate on racism. They are undermining the objectives of the organization and rank and file officers who are doing their utmost to police fairly.”

“It is wholly unacceptable to continue to portray the Asian community as victims. There are too many personal agendas at play without due consideration of everyday public safety.”