- My Account
- Logout
- Register
- Login
Extremist guilty of bombing plot
Related Articles
09 January 2008
The 27-year-old was the leader of an east London al Qaida-inspired terror cell, a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found.
Ali and and co-defendants Assad Sarwar 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27, admitted plotting a series of small-scale headline-grabbing bomb attacks.
But the jury rejected Ali's claims he did not plan to kill or hurt anyone in the blasts. They found he intended to murder people using an ingenious form of hydrogen peroxide liquid bomb disguised in 500ml Lucozade or Oasis bottles.
Prosecutors said his gang, who met at Ali's Walthamstow flat, considered national infrastructure targets including gas terminals and oil refineries. Evidence revealed Canary Wharf, the Bacton gas terminal pipeline, various airports, the electricity grid and internet providers were studied.
Police said the plot was drawn up in Pakistan with detailed instructions passed to Ali during frequent trips to its lawless border with Afghanistan. Surveillance teams watched Ali on his return to Britain as he assembled his terror cell, gathered materials and identified targets.
But jurors were unable to reach verdicts on a charge that Ali and his co-defendents were responsible for an unprecedented airline bomb plot. The prosecution had alleged that they intended to target passenger jets flying from London to major North American cities with suicide attacks.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 created to make the documentary more provocative.
The three men, plus co-defendants Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, Waheed Zaman, 24, and Umar Islam, 30, also admitted conspiring to cause a public nuisance.
Sarwar and Tanvir were convicted alongside Ali of conspiracy to murder. The jury failed to reach verdicts on Savant, Khan, Zaman and Islam. An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, was found not guilty on all counts. Sentencing will take place at a later date.
Top stories in News in brief
News in brief in Pictures
Top stories in News in brief
News in brief in Pictures
-
Duchess of Cambridge is pretty in pink at her first Buckingham Palace garden party
-
News pictures of the day
-
The Glamour Awards - stars turn on the style
-
Horror on the 5.53! Commuter dragged 200 feet after getting hand trapped on train
-
Chelsea have the League’s highest wage bill for eighth year in a row
-
Locked up and banned: The Tube drunk whose vile racist rant was caught on film (video)
-
British housewife facing FIRING SQUAD over Bali drugs smuggling charge was 'neighbour from hell' -
London 2012 Olympics: Raising the bar and the Games haven't even started yet. Price of toasting Team GB is £6 a pint! -
Timebomb ticking in Thames Estuary could put Boris Island plans in jeopardy -
Video: Intruder bursts into Leveson Inquiry to brand Tony Blair a war criminal
The O2
Check out the cool stuff happening under our tent such as the hottest gigs, comedy, sport, films, clubs, bars, restaurants and much more.
A home to be proud of with Halifax
Download the Halifax's brilliant, free new Home Finder app, and take all the pain out of finding your dream home.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Win a Silverstone track day with Zantac 75
Feel the burn of a different kind - 20 Silverstone motoring experiences to be won
Celebrate with MARTINI®
This weekend toast one royal with another and make your Jubilee sparkle with a MARTINI Royale.
Reader Offers email A fantastic selection of
offers, giveaways and
promotions.
Family pay tribute to the London man who gave his life to save a five-year-old girl from drowning
Eton schoolboys fly Games flag on Everest
Shrimpy's - review
London Fields forever: street style from the hippest park