By IANS,
London : A British court Monday found three men guilty of conspiring to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist bombing plot drawn up in Pakistan.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, the 27-year-old leader of an east London terror cell inspired by Al Qaeda, was found guilty of planning to attack British targets, including Heathrow Airport’s terminal three, with home-made bombs.
Ali and his companions – Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27 – had admitted plotting a series of small-scale headline-grabbing bomb attacks.
The jury at Woolwich Crown Court in London rejected Ali’s claims he did not plan to kill or hurt anyone in the blasts.
The jury found Ali planned to use an ingenious form of hydrogen peroxide liquid bomb disguised as a soft drink – whose implications are still felt around the world as airlines continue to place restrictions on carrying liquid.
Police said the plot was drawn up in Pakistan with detailed instructions passed to Ali during frequent trips to the area bordering Afghanistan.
Police said the liquid bomb, which was to have been hidden in 500ml Oasis or Lucozade bottles, was designed by an Al Qaeda terrorist.
Police monitored Ali communicating with Pakistan-based terrorists using public phones, mobile phones and anonymous email accounts.
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, but the jury failed to reach verdicts on the other four.
An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, was cleared of all charges.