Terror plot police 'discover martyr videos on laptops'

'Martyr videos' of the type left by suicide bombers, were reportedly discovered on at least six laptops owned by some of the 23 suspects being questioned in the foiled airline terror plot.

The BBC, citing an unofficial police source, said that several of the videos had been found as part of the investigation into the alleged plot to bomb as many as 10 jetliners bound for the US.

Scotland Yard would not comment on the report, which came after police chiefs said that hundreds of officers from across Britain joined in the massive investigation, one of the largest in British history.

Last week, a US law enforcement official said that one "martyrdom" tape had been found by investigators.

Dozens of police teams are continuing sweeps of homes, businesses and a stretch of dense woodland thought to hold clues in the alleged conspiracy to detonate liquid explosives aboard the planes, police said.

Officers using climbing ropes probed a canopy of trees in High Wycombe, 30 miles north-west of London, while others conducted fingertip sweeps of the forest floor for traces of explosives. Police have declined to comment on ndetails of items found during the investigation and Scotland Yard has refused to comment on claims that a suitcase containing "everything you would need to make an improvised device" had been unearthed in the strip of woodland.

Officers have until Monday to question two suspects, and until Wednesday to interview 21 others. The police may seek to hold the suspects for a maximum of 28 days before charging them, and are likely to make a request to a judge next week to extend the current custody deadlines.