Muslim couple found guilty of planning London terror attack
Rehman was arrested after he tweeted asking whether he should bomb a shopping centre or the London Underground
A combination of two undated handout pictures retrieved from the Thames Valley Police website in London on December 29, 2015, shows (L-R) Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan, who were convicted at the Old Bailey on December 29, 2015, of preparing for acts of terrorism. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON:
A British court on Tuesday convicted a husband and wife of planning a major terror attack to mark the 10th anniversary of the London suicide bombings this year.
Mohammed Rehman, 25, used the Twitter name "Silent Bomber" and asked users whether he should bomb a shopping centre or the London Underground train network.
Shops or Tube? London bomb accused 'asked Twitter for advice'
Rehman used as his profile picture an image of the Islamic State (IS) group militant known as "Jihadi John", believed killed earlier this year, and was said by prosecutors to have had a "keen interest" in IS.
He was arrested in May after posting a tweet saying: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
That was accompanied by a link to an al Qaeda press release about the July 2005 bombings in which four suicide bombers targeted London's transport system. Fifty-two people were killed.
The couple were accused of planning their attack around May 28.
Rehman and his wife Sana Ahmed Khan were found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey in London, England's central criminal court.
Police also seized more than 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) of urea nitrate, which can be used to manufacture a large bomb, from their house and he filmed himself testing explosives in their back garden.
"The manufacture of a detonator would have taken no more than a couple of days and could have been done by him much quicker if he chose to," prosecutor Tony Badenoch told the court.
US air strike targets 'Jihadi John' in Syria: Pentagon
While Rehman was responsible for creating the bomb, his wife funded his exploits and bought the chemicals, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
If detonated on the London Underground, the bomb they were preparing "would have caused multiple fatalities," said the CPS.
"The intention to carry out some form of terrorism attack was clear," Susan Hemming, head of the CPS counter terrorism division, said following the verdict.
"The pair had been very close to carrying out an attack. All they required was to purchase the chemicals to make a detonator.
"There is little doubt that, had Rehman and Ahmed Khan not been stopped when they were, they would have attempted to carry out an act of terrorism in London."
The couple will be sentenced on Wednesday or Thursday, following mitigation hearings.
A British court on Tuesday convicted a husband and wife of planning a major terror attack to mark the 10th anniversary of the London suicide bombings this year.
Mohammed Rehman, 25, used the Twitter name "Silent Bomber" and asked users whether he should bomb a shopping centre or the London Underground train network.
Shops or Tube? London bomb accused 'asked Twitter for advice'
Rehman used as his profile picture an image of the Islamic State (IS) group militant known as "Jihadi John", believed killed earlier this year, and was said by prosecutors to have had a "keen interest" in IS.
He was arrested in May after posting a tweet saying: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
That was accompanied by a link to an al Qaeda press release about the July 2005 bombings in which four suicide bombers targeted London's transport system. Fifty-two people were killed.
The couple were accused of planning their attack around May 28.
Rehman and his wife Sana Ahmed Khan were found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey in London, England's central criminal court.
Police also seized more than 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) of urea nitrate, which can be used to manufacture a large bomb, from their house and he filmed himself testing explosives in their back garden.
"The manufacture of a detonator would have taken no more than a couple of days and could have been done by him much quicker if he chose to," prosecutor Tony Badenoch told the court.
US air strike targets 'Jihadi John' in Syria: Pentagon
While Rehman was responsible for creating the bomb, his wife funded his exploits and bought the chemicals, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
If detonated on the London Underground, the bomb they were preparing "would have caused multiple fatalities," said the CPS.
"The intention to carry out some form of terrorism attack was clear," Susan Hemming, head of the CPS counter terrorism division, said following the verdict.
"The pair had been very close to carrying out an attack. All they required was to purchase the chemicals to make a detonator.
"There is little doubt that, had Rehman and Ahmed Khan not been stopped when they were, they would have attempted to carry out an act of terrorism in London."
The couple will be sentenced on Wednesday or Thursday, following mitigation hearings.