Experts track airliner plot similarities to al-Qaida

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Counterterrorism experts are coming to believe that al-Qaida was behind the airborne terror plot dismantled by British authorities this past week.

Government officials say they don't yet have hard evidence, but the conspiracy seems to carry the hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's terror network.

For one thing, teams of radicals were supposed to assemble bombs from everyday items on up to ten airplanes, but not all the attackers knew each other.

Other al-Qaida trademarks include the strategically timed sequence of dramatic events and what's believed to have been financial and training support from Pakistan.

British and Pakistani authorities have arrested as many as 41 people so far, including ten in Pakistan Saturday.