Terrorists Planned Attack in Europe Linked to American
Jim Kouri, CPP
March 22, 2006
British citizens were shocked to hear that a terrorist cell linked to Al-Qaeda plotted to bomb pubs, nightclubs and trains in an intense, coordinated terrorist attack in the United Kingdom. These reports emanated from the trial of terror suspects in London's courthouse, the Old Bailey.
One alleged member of the terrorist cell, Mohammed Babar, a Pakistani-born American citizen who has pleaded guilty in New York to a role in the British bomb plot, is expected to testify against the British defendants.
The terror suspects had trained at terror camps in Pakistan where they formulated the plot after practicing with ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder to create improvised explosive devices.
The terrorist plot to murder and injure hundreds, if not thousands, of Britons may have involved 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and they planned to smuggle detonators into the UK through Belgium hidden in small radios, the court heard.
Two of the defendants claimed to be under the command of Al-Qaeda's number-three leader, according to the prosecution. Most of the necessary components were in place and all that remained before their plans achieved their ultimate goal was for the target or targets to be finally agreed upon.
One member of the terrorist cell, Waheed Mahmood, had been working for National Grid Transco a company that operates the high voltage electricity system in England and Wales and the high pressure gas system in Britain. The aim of the plot was to destroy a strategic plant within Britain or to kill and injure citizens of the UK as possible, the Daily Mail reported.
A great deal of preparation had been done in Pakistan but the targets were to be in the UK, according to the prosecution. In July 2003, the group Muslim British citizens travelled to a training camp in Pakistan with tourist visas claiming they were visiting lakes and glaciers. At the terrorist training camp they trained to use explosives.
The lead prosecutor claims they also used false names in Pakistan, for instance one of the defendants used the name Hamza. In order to communicate with one another, codes were used in e-mails such as referring to detonators as "cigarettes". Omar Khyam, 24, was said to be at the center of operations.
The other defendants are his brother Shujah Mahmood, 19, Waheed Mahmood, 34, and Jawad Akbar, 22, Anthony Garcia, 23, Nabeel Hussain, 20, who was a student at Brunel University, and Salahuddin Amin, 31. They all deny conspiring to cause explosions between January 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004.
Khyam, Garcia and Hussain also deny a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possession an article for terrorism -- the 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Brothers Omar Khyam and Shuja Mahmood also deny having aluminium powder for terrorism. A Canadian man Mohammed Momin Khawaja is awaiting trial there over the plot, according to the Daily Mail.
One alleged member of the terrorist cell, Mohammed Babar, a Pakistani-born American citizen who has pleaded guilty in New York to a role in the British bomb plot, is expected to testify against the British defendants.
The terror suspects had trained at terror camps in Pakistan where they formulated the plot after practicing with ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder to create improvised explosive devices.
The terrorist plot to murder and injure hundreds, if not thousands, of Britons may have involved 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and they planned to smuggle detonators into the UK through Belgium hidden in small radios, the court heard.
Two of the defendants claimed to be under the command of Al-Qaeda's number-three leader, according to the prosecution. Most of the necessary components were in place and all that remained before their plans achieved their ultimate goal was for the target or targets to be finally agreed upon.
One member of the terrorist cell, Waheed Mahmood, had been working for National Grid Transco a company that operates the high voltage electricity system in England and Wales and the high pressure gas system in Britain. The aim of the plot was to destroy a strategic plant within Britain or to kill and injure citizens of the UK as possible, the Daily Mail reported.
A great deal of preparation had been done in Pakistan but the targets were to be in the UK, according to the prosecution. In July 2003, the group Muslim British citizens travelled to a training camp in Pakistan with tourist visas claiming they were visiting lakes and glaciers. At the terrorist training camp they trained to use explosives.
The lead prosecutor claims they also used false names in Pakistan, for instance one of the defendants used the name Hamza. In order to communicate with one another, codes were used in e-mails such as referring to detonators as "cigarettes". Omar Khyam, 24, was said to be at the center of operations.
The other defendants are his brother Shujah Mahmood, 19, Waheed Mahmood, 34, and Jawad Akbar, 22, Anthony Garcia, 23, Nabeel Hussain, 20, who was a student at Brunel University, and Salahuddin Amin, 31. They all deny conspiring to cause explosions between January 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004.
Khyam, Garcia and Hussain also deny a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possession an article for terrorism -- the 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Brothers Omar Khyam and Shuja Mahmood also deny having aluminium powder for terrorism. A Canadian man Mohammed Momin Khawaja is awaiting trial there over the plot, according to the Daily Mail.
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