by Jim Kouri
Clash Daily Guest Contributor
Three suspects from Birmingham, England, were found guilty on Thursday of plotting a bombing campaign intended to be even larger than the 7/7 London attacks that occurred on May 7, 2005, in which 52 people were killed.
Although the intended targets of the three Islamists remain unknown, it is clear to the police and members of the Security Service, MI5, that the convicted terrorists intended to inflict as much destruction and death as possible by recruiting a team of suicide bombers to carry out attacks.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, were plotting to set off up to eight explosive devices in crowded areas, and set up a charity collection scam in order to raise money to fund their planned terrorist operations, according to MI5 .
Naseer and Khalid were also found guilty of attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan and Naseer with assisting four younger men to travel there after them.
All three will also face sentencing for trying to recruit others from Birmingham to join the plot which Khalid described as being “another 9-11”. Naseer talked of “spilling so much blood you’ll have nightmares for the rest of your lives.”
The convictions come at the end of a 14-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court. A jury of six men and six women returned unanimous verdicts, finding the defendants guilty of all 12 charges of engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism.
Karen Jones, specialist counterterrorism prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “These men had dangerous aspirations and whilst the precise targets remained unclear, the potential for damage and loss of life from their plot should not be underestimated.”
“The evidence we put to the court showed the defendants discussing with awe and admiration the attacks of 9/11 and 7/7. These terrorists wanted to do something bigger, speaking of how 7/7 had gone a bit wrong,” noted Jones.
“Having traveled to Pakistan for expert training and preparation, Naseer and Khalid returned to the UK where they discussed attacks involving up to eight rucksacks. Had they not been stopped, the consequences would have been catastrophic,” Jones said,
The case followed a lengthy investigation that produced 25,000 pages of evidence including video and audio material. The Crown Prosecution Service commended the success of the case, saying that it was “largely down to the close working between [West Midlands] police, the Security Service (MI5) and the CPS.”
Image: Archangel Michael by Emily Young; plaque inscription: ” In memory of the victims of the 7th July 2005 bombings and all victims of violence. ‘I will lift up my eyes unto the hills’ Psalm 121″ (information is from St Pancras Church website www.stpancraschurch.org); Stu Phillips (photo);
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland security, public safety and political consulting firm. He’s formerly Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he’s a columnist for Examiner.com.
