TSMC to begin construction of European chip factory in Q4 '24    German inflation up to 2.4% in April    Biden harshly hikes tariffs on Chinese imports to protect US businesses    Madinaty Open Air Mall Welcomes Boom Room: Egypt's First Social Entertainment Hub    Oil steady in early Tuesday trade    Indonesia kicks off 1st oil, gas auction    Cred entrusts Ever's clubhouse operations to Emirati firm Dex Squared    Mabany Edris boosts Koun Project investment to EGP 7bn    Sales of top 10 Egyptian real estate companies hit EGP 235bn in three months: The Board Consulting    Key suppliers of arms to Israel: Who halted weapon exports?    Trend Micro's 2023 Cybersecurity Report: Blocking 73 million threats in Egypt    Egypt and OECD representatives discuss green growth policies report    Egypt, Greece collaborate on healthcare development, medical tourism    Egyptian consortium nears completion of Tanzania's Julius Nyerere hydropower project    Intel eyes $11b investment for new Irish chip plant    Al-Sisi inaugurates restored Sayyida Zainab Mosque, reveals plan to develop historic mosques    Shell Egypt hosts discovery session for university students to fuel participation in Shell Eco-marathon 2025    President Al-Sisi hosts leader of Indian Bohra community    Japanese Ambassador presents Certificate of Appreciation to renowned Opera singer Reda El-Wakil    Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference    AstraZeneca injects $50m in Egypt over four years    Egypt, AstraZeneca sign liver cancer MoU    Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23    Climate change risks 70% of global workforce – ILO    Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan    Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge    Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo    Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Islamists admit plot to blow up London Stock Exchange
Published in Daily News Egypt on 01 - 02 - 2012

LONDON: Four British Islamists inspired by a former Al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaqi admitted in court on Wednesday to plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange in 2010.
The men belonged to a group of fundamentalists who planned a spate of mail bomb attacks during the run-up to Christmas that year and discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity, prosecutors said.
Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, and Shah Rahman, 28, both from London, admitted preparing for acts of terrorism by planning to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange.
Brothers Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, both from the Welsh capital Cardiff, admitted the same count at a London court.
Five other men, four from the central English city of Stoke and another from Cardiff, admitted lesser terror offences.
They will all be sentenced from Monday next week.
Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, welcomed the guilty pleas, saying the case had been "the largest counter-terrorism operation of 2010".
Police found a handwritten target list at the home of one of the defendants that included the Stock Exchange, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, two rabbis and the US embassy in London.
Detectives also followed Chowdhury and Rahman observing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament, on November 28, 2010.
Undercover officers stopped the group before they could set firm dates for the attacks, and despite possessing a guide to bomb-making in Al-Qaeda magazine "Inspire" the men did not reach the point of making any explosive devices.
However, prosecutors said they posed a serious threat, not just to the British capital but also to Stoke, where the group talked about leaving homemade bombs in pub toilets.
They also talked about travelling to a terrorism training camp in Kashmir.
They were not members of Al-Qaeda but prosecutors said the defendants were inspired by the terror network and specifically Awlaqi, a suspected leader of the group in Yemen who was killed in September in what is thought to have been a US drone strike.
The nine men "were implementing the published strategy of AQAP" (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group's deadliest global branch), said prosecution lawyer Andrew Edis.
He conceded that the four men involved in the London Stock Exchange plot had not intended to hurt anyone.
"Their intention was to cause terror and economic harm and disruption. But their chosen method meant there was a risk people would be maimed or killed," he told the court.
The group, who met because of their membership of various extremist Islamic groups, had originally challenged the charges against them and were due to stand trial, but at the 11th hour they changed their pleas to guilty.
The November 2008 attacks in Mumbai saw 10 heavily-armed Islamist gunmen storm targets including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a train station in nearly three days of violence that killed 166 people.
Among the other defendants in the London trial, Usman Khan, 20, Mohammed Shahjahan, 27, and Nazam Hussain, 26, all of Stoke, admitted attending operational meetings in parks in Wales last year.
Omar Latif, 28, from Cardiff, admitted attending the meetings with the intention of assisting others to prepare or commit acts of terrorism.
Mohibur Rahman, 27, from Stoke, admitted being in possession of two editions of "Inspire" for terrorist purposes.


Clic here to read the story from its source.