From Creeping Sharia:
Muslim men admit plotting to bomb London Stock Exchange
Posted on February 2, 2012 by creeping
Four men inspired by al-Qa’ida admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange yesterday. Five other men have pleaded guilty to other terrorism offences and all nine will be sentenced next week.
A handwritten target list found at the home of one of the men included the names and addresses of the London Mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the American embassy and the Stock Exchange.
The nine men, who are all British nationals, were followers of Anwar Al-Awlaki, the senior al-Qa’ida recruiter and planner killed four months ago in a US drone attack in Yemen. They kept copies of al-Qa’ida’s Inspire magazine, which aims to galvanise Western radicals to bring terror to their own countries by offering fundamentalist teachings and instructions on making bombs.
Four of the gang admitted the Stock Exchange plot, while five accomplices admitted associated terrorism offences.
The men wanted to send mail bombs and also discussed launching a “Mumbai-style” atrocity. They were followed by undercover police observing landmarks such as Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey and recorded researching how to make pipe bombs and talking of raising funds to send British citizens to training camps abroad.
When they were arrested, the man accused of being the “lynchpin” of the gang, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, had a list of targets as well as a sketch of what appeared to be a car bomb.
Their primary aim, Andrew Edis QC, for the prosecution, explained, was to cause terror and economic damage but their actions would undoubtedly have “maimed and killed” innocent people.
The nine men, aged between 20 and 30, had all denied terrorism charges but yesterday, on the eve of a five-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court, they each pleaded guilty.
Mr Justice Wilkie is expected to sentence the men next week. Chowdhury, the key connection between a group of men from London, Cardiff and Stoke, was told he could expect a sentence of more than 13 years with a five-year extended-licence period. He has already served 13 months on remand and could be free in six years.
Chowdhury, along with fellow Londoner Shah Rahman, 29, and Abdul Miah, 25, and Gurukanth Desai, 30, both from Cardiff, admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange.
Three others, Nazam Hussain, 26, Usman Khan, 20, and Mohammed Shahjahan, 27, all from Stoke, admitted attending meetings to discuss attacks, as well as raising funds to send British men to training camps in Kashmir.
“It was clear that acts of terrorism would be committed on that person’s return,” Mr Edis said.
Omar Latif, 28, from Cardiff, pleaded guilty to attending meetings at which terrorist attacks were discussed, while Mohibur Rahman, 27, from Stoke, admitted owning copies of Inspire, which included articles such as “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom”.
No comments:
Post a Comment