British Police Now Downplaying “Chemical Vest”

The British authorities are now starting to downplay the possibility that a "chemical suicide vest" is being searched for. They are now reporting it is likely to be a cannister of some sort.

Terrorists were planning a chemical attack in London similar to the outrage on the Tokyo underground, according to police and the security services.

MI5 operatives suspect that al-Qa'eda sympathisers intended to produce a nerve agent - probably sarin - and release it in a confined space, such as a tube carriage, to maximise the number of casualties.

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Security sources suspect that a new atrocity was planned on or close to the anniversary of the July 7 attacks on London, when four terrorists killed themselves and 52 others, and injured more than 700 people. This would have provided a rallying call to al-Qa'eda sympathisers to carry on their "jihad" - or holy war - against the West.

Officers were last night continuing to question two men after a raid on a house in Forest Gate, east London. The men arrested are brothers: Mohammed Abul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20. Both deny any offences.

The elder brother was shot in the shoulder during a police raid at 4am on Friday. He was later arrested under the Terrorism Act after being treated for the gunshot wound in the Royal London Hospital, where he is still recovering.

Senior police sources said they were searching for an "improvised device rather than a sophisticated weapon" capable of releasing chemicals. The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that intelligence obtained by MI5 suggested that terrorists were trying to acquire material via the internet which could be used to develop a nerve gas capable of killing and injuring thousands of people.

I'm not sure how to read this at this point.