Three men who planned to become suicide bombers and aspired to eclipse the 7 July and 9/11 atrocities have been found guilty of terrorism charges.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, from Birmingham, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of being "central figures" in the plot.
Jurors were told they planned to set off up to eight bombs in rucksacks and possibly detonate bombs on timers.
Police described the men as "committed, passionate extremists".
The trio were arrested in 2011 amid fears their plans were accelerating.
Detectives believe it was the most significant terror plot to be uncovered since the 2006 conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners using bombs disguised as soft drinks.
Khalid even boasted that the attack was "another 9/11" as "revenge for everything"....
...The jury heard that Naseer and Khalid had received training from al-Qaeda contacts in Pakistan - and had recorded martyrdom videos there before returning to the UK.
Having recruited others, the group posed as legitimate charity workers on the streets of Birmingham and collected thousands of pounds from unsuspecting members of the public.
Naseer played a key role in sending four other Birmingham men to Pakistan to receive training. All of these have already pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism: Ishaaq Hussain, 21, Shahid Khan, 21, Naweed Ali, 25, and Khobaib Hussain, 22.
Two other Birmingham men who were part of Naseer and Khalid's plans, Rahin Ahmed, 27, and Mujahid Hussain, 21, have also pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.