- Two Muslim suspects had made martyrdom videos, court told
- Pair alleged to have planned eight rucksack bomb attacks
- Court hears gang is 'homegrown terrorist cell'
A gang of Muslim jihadists planned to launch a bombing campaign to eclipse the London attacks of 7/7, a court heard today.
One of them even described the plot as “another 9/11”, the jury was told. It is alleged they aimed to detonate eight rucksack bombs in suicide attacks to cause mass death.
Woolwich crown court heard that two had made martyrdom videos at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, ready for release to the world once the bombings had taken place.
It is also claimed that they made street collections for the Muslim Aid charity, which they diverted to their terrorist cause.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, deny engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts between Christmas Day 2010 and September last year.
They were among 11 people rounded up by anti-terrorist officers in the West Midlands. Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said: “Police successfully disrupted a plan to commit an act or acts of terrorism on a scale potentially greater than the London bombings in July 2005, had it been allowed to run its course.
“Although the finer details had not been worked out and agreed on, the defendants were preparing to detonate up to eight rucksack bombs on a suicide attack, and/or detonate bombs on targets in crowded areas to cause mass death and casualties.
“One of them was even to describe their plan as another 9/11.”
The gang was a “homegrown terrorist cell”, the court heard. The 11 arrested and charged were of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. They include a young woman who was the estranged wife of one of the alleged plotters. All 11 have been charged with a variety of terrorist offences.
The defendants, who were British-born and from Birmingham, were “central figures in the plot”.
Naseer, who was known as “Chubbs” or “Big Irfan”, had a chemistry degree from Aston University.
Mr Altman said: “It was his knowledge of chemistry, plus his training in terrorism in Pakistan, which allowed the defendants to experiment in producing an explosive mix, with a view to constructing a homemade explosive device in the kitchen [of Ali’s one-bedroom flat] in the days leading up to the arrest of the defendants and others.”
It is alleged that during terrorist training in Pakistan, Naseer and Khalid were taught how to make weapons and poisons — techniques they hoped to deploy in this country. They both made martyrdom videos in Pakistan, the court heard, and returned to Britain in July last year.
Mr Altman said they sought to spread what they had learned to others in this country: “The defendants were trying to recruit others to join them, some were sent abroad to train in terrorism and others joined them in using charity funds to raise money for terrorist purposes.”
Khalid, known as “Little Irfan” or “Sylvester”, worked as a security guard in 2010. It is alleged Ali’s flat was used as a safe house. He was es-tranged from his wife and cut himself off from his family so he could concentrate on jihad, the jury heard.
Mr Altman told how Naseer, Khalid and others wore high visibility jackets and shook buckets on the streets of Birmingham as they collected cash for the charity Muslim Aid: “The defendants and those they employed to raise funds with them were despicably stealing from their own community money donated to charity.”
Rahin Ahmed, who has pleaded guilty to preparing for terrorist acts, was chief fundraiser and banked just over £13,500.
The court heard he gambled £14,500 on foreign exchange trading to try to increase his profits, but ended up losing £9,000. In the end Muslim Aid got only £1,500 and an Islamic learning centre £900 of the money raised.
The court heard that the defendants were jihadists who had been influenced by the lectures and writings of Anwar Al-Awlaki, a US-born extremist of Yemeni descent who was an affiliate of al Qaeda on the Arabian peninsula. Al-Awlaki was killed in September last year by an American drone only 12 days after the defendants had been arrested.
Mr Altman said: “The defendants made the deliberate decision to be-come a terrorist following what they believed to be the right path dictated by their extremist religious and ideological belief.” The trial continues.
- Pair alleged to have planned eight rucksack bomb attacks
- Court hears gang is 'homegrown terrorist cell'
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Terror allegation: Irfan 'Chubs' Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, both 27, are accused of bei
One of them even described the plot as “another 9/11”, the jury was told. It is alleged they aimed to detonate eight rucksack bombs in suicide attacks to cause mass death.
Woolwich crown court heard that two had made martyrdom videos at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, ready for release to the world once the bombings had taken place.
It is also claimed that they made street collections for the Muslim Aid charity, which they diverted to their terrorist cause.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, deny engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts between Christmas Day 2010 and September last year.
They were among 11 people rounded up by anti-terrorist officers in the West Midlands. Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said: “Police successfully disrupted a plan to commit an act or acts of terrorism on a scale potentially greater than the London bombings in July 2005, had it been allowed to run its course.
“Although the finer details had not been worked out and agreed on, the defendants were preparing to detonate up to eight rucksack bombs on a suicide attack, and/or detonate bombs on targets in crowded areas to cause mass death and casualties.
“One of them was even to describe their plan as another 9/11.”
The gang was a “homegrown terrorist cell”, the court heard. The 11 arrested and charged were of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. They include a young woman who was the estranged wife of one of the alleged plotters. All 11 have been charged with a variety of terrorist offences.
The defendants, who were British-born and from Birmingham, were “central figures in the plot”.
Naseer, who was known as “Chubbs” or “Big Irfan”, had a chemistry degree from Aston University.
Mr Altman said: “It was his knowledge of chemistry, plus his training in terrorism in Pakistan, which allowed the defendants to experiment in producing an explosive mix, with a view to constructing a homemade explosive device in the kitchen [of Ali’s one-bedroom flat] in the days leading up to the arrest of the defendants and others.”
It is alleged that during terrorist training in Pakistan, Naseer and Khalid were taught how to make weapons and poisons — techniques they hoped to deploy in this country. They both made martyrdom videos in Pakistan, the court heard, and returned to Britain in July last year.
Mr Altman said they sought to spread what they had learned to others in this country: “The defendants were trying to recruit others to join them, some were sent abroad to train in terrorism and others joined them in using charity funds to raise money for terrorist purposes.”
Khalid, known as “Little Irfan” or “Sylvester”, worked as a security guard in 2010. It is alleged Ali’s flat was used as a safe house. He was es-tranged from his wife and cut himself off from his family so he could concentrate on jihad, the jury heard.
Mr Altman told how Naseer, Khalid and others wore high visibility jackets and shook buckets on the streets of Birmingham as they collected cash for the charity Muslim Aid: “The defendants and those they employed to raise funds with them were despicably stealing from their own community money donated to charity.”
Rahin Ahmed, who has pleaded guilty to preparing for terrorist acts, was chief fundraiser and banked just over £13,500.
The court heard he gambled £14,500 on foreign exchange trading to try to increase his profits, but ended up losing £9,000. In the end Muslim Aid got only £1,500 and an Islamic learning centre £900 of the money raised.
The court heard that the defendants were jihadists who had been influenced by the lectures and writings of Anwar Al-Awlaki, a US-born extremist of Yemeni descent who was an affiliate of al Qaeda on the Arabian peninsula. Al-Awlaki was killed in September last year by an American drone only 12 days after the defendants had been arrested.
Mr Altman said: “The defendants made the deliberate decision to be-come a terrorist following what they believed to be the right path dictated by their extremist religious and ideological belief.” The trial continues.
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