Flaming SUV rams U.K. airport

GLASGOW, Scotland – A Jeep Cherokee trailing a cascade of flames rammed into the Glasgow airport on Saturday, shattering glass doors just yards from passengers lined up at the check-in counters. Police said they believed the attack was linked to two car bombs found in London the day before.\nBritain raised its terror alert to “critical,” the highest possible level, and the Bush administration announced plans to increase security at airports and on mass transit.\nOne of the men in the \ncar was in critical condition at a hospital with severe burns, while the other was in police custody, said Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie \nRae. He said a “suspect device” was found on the man at the hospital and it was taken to a safe location where it was being investigated.\nRae would not say whether the device was a suicide belt. British security officials said evidence pointed toward the Glasgow attack being a \nsuicide mission.\n“I can confirm that we believe the incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday,” Rae \nsaid. “There are clearly similarities, and we can confirm that \nthis is being treated as a terrorist incident.”\nPolice foiled the plot Friday after two cars were found in central London packed with explosives – one outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus and another parked nearby.\nA British government security official said the methods used in the airport attack and Friday’s thwarted plots were similar, with all three vehicles carrying large quantities of flammable liquid.\nThe official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information’s sensitivity.\nPolice and MI5 had no intelligence warning of a plan to attack Scotland but have monitored a host of suspected terrorists and plots there, he said. It was not yet clear whether there was an international element to the planning or funding of the attacks, the official said.\nThe new terror threat presents Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a Scot who took office on Wednesday, with an enormous challenge and comes at a time of already heightened vigilance one week before the anniversary of the July 7 London transit attacks, which killed \n52 people.\n“I know that the British people will stand together, united, resolute and strong,” \nBrown said Saturday in a televised statement.\nThe green Jeep barreled toward Glasgow’s main airport terminal shortly after 3 p.m., hitting security barriers before crashing into the glass doors, witnesses said.\nPolice subdued the driver and a passenger, both described by witnesses as South Asian – a term used to refer to people from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in the region – arresting them and taking one to the hospital. Witnesses said one of the men was engulfed in flames and spoke “gibberish” as an official used a fire extinguisher to douse the fire.\nRae said a bystander was taken to the hospital with a \nleg injury.\nThe previous round of terrorist activity in Britain, in July 2005, was largely carried out by local Muslims, raising ethnic tensions in Britain.\n“The car came speeding past,” said Scott Leeson, a witness. “Then the driver swerved the car around so he could ram straight in to the door. He must have been trying to smash straight through.”\nPassengers fled running and screaming from the busy terminal, Margaret Hughes told the British Broadcasting Corp. “There was black smoke gushing out where the car had obviously been driven into the airport,” she said.\nThe airport was evacuated and all flights suspended. Flames and black smoke rose from the Jeep outside the main entrance. It did not appear there were any injuries aside from the suspect who had been set afire. Police said Liverpool Airport and roads around Edinburgh were also closed.