'Liquid bomb' trio guilty over plot to kill hundreds

Published on Monday 8 September 2008 22:17

THREE Islamic extremists were facing lengthy prison sentences last night after being found guilty of conspiring to kill hundreds in a terrorist bombing campaign.

They were members of an east London al-Qaeda-inspired terror cell that planned to detonate home-made bombs in attacks on British targets, including Heathrow Airport, a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found.

But following a five-month trial, the jurors failed to reach verdicts on prosecution claims that they were plotting an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings on transatlantic airliners.

The three – Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27 – had already admitted planning a series of small-scale headline-grabbing bomb attacks. But, by a majority of ten to two, the jurors rejected their claims they did not plan to kill or hurt anyone in the blasts.

They could not agree verdicts on whether another four Muslim men – Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, Waheed Zaman, 24, and Umar Islam, 30 – were also involved in the conspiracy to murder.

All seven defendants earlier admitted conspiring to cause a public nuisance by distributing al-Qaeda-style videos threatening suicide attacks in Britain.

The Crown Prosecution Service has until the end of this month to decide whether the men should face retrials on the counts on which the jurors could not reach verdicts.

An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, 27, was cleared on all charges. The trial judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, adjourned the case for sentencing at a later date.

The jury found that Ali – described by prosecutors as the mastermind – Sarwar and Hussain intended to murder people using an "ingenious" form of hydrogen peroxide liquid bomb disguised as a soft drink.

Prosecutors said the gang considered national infrastructure targets, including gas terminals and oil refineries.

Evidence revealed that Canary Wharf, a major gas terminal pipeline, various airports, the electricity grid and internet providers were studied.

Documents also referred to Coryton Oil Refinery, south Essex; Fawley Oil Refinery, Hampshire; and Kingsbury Oil Refinery, Warwickshire.

Police said the plot was drawn up in Pakistan with detailed instructions passed to Ali during frequent trips to its lawless border with Afghanistan.

They believe a mystery al-Qaeda bombmaker was responsible for the "liquid bomb" design concealed within 500ml Oasis or Lucozade bottles.

Surveillance teams watched Ali on his return to Britain as he assembled his terror cell. Undercover officers looked on as the unemployed former shop worker used cash to buy a 138,000 second-floor flat in Walthamstow.

They planted a bug that revealed it was converted into a bomb factory where Ali met the others to construct explosives.

The flat was also used as a location for Ali and his cell to record suicide videos threatening further attacks against the West.

Last night, the CPS said "the prosecution is considering a request for a retrial" with regard the accusations that jets were a target. In his defence, Ali said he wanted to create an internet documentary protesting against British foreign policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

He claimed the apparent suicide video, and those created by five of his co-defendants, were spoofs to make the documentary more provocative.

Ali said the blasts would create a storm of media attention that would propel the video into the spotlight.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith welcomed the conclusion of the trial and said she was "indebted to the police and security services who, by successfully disrupting this group, have saved countless lives".