THE TELEGRAPH: Three Islamic extremists are facing lengthy prison sentences after being found guilty of conspiring to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist bombing campaign.
The trio were members of an east London al Qaida-inspired terror cell that planned to detonate home-made bombs in attacks on British targets including Heathrow Airport, a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found.
But following a five-month trial the jurors failed to reach verdicts on prosecution claims that they were plotting an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings on transatlantic airliners.
The three - Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27 - had already admitted planning a series of small-scale headline-grabbing bomb attacks.
But, by a majority of 10 to two, the jurors rejected their claims that they did not plan to kill or hurt anyone in the blasts.
The eight men and four women on the jury deliberated for 56 hours and nine minutes.
But they could not agree verdicts on whether another four Muslim men - Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, Waheed Zaman, 24, and Umar Islam, 30 - were also involved in the conspiracy to murder.
All seven defendants earlier admitted conspiring to cause a public nuisance by distributing al Qaida-style videos threatening suicide attacks in Britain.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has until the end of this month to decide whether the men should face retrials on the counts on which the jurors could not reach verdicts.
An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, 27, was cleared on all charges.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, adjourned the case for sentencing at a later date. Airliner Bomb Trial: Three Muslim extremists Face Lengthy Jail Terms over Plot >>> | September 9, 2008
THE INEPENDENT:
'You Will Be Destroyed': Bombers Convicted of Heathrow Plot: The chilling threat from Abdulla Ali, a British graduate convicted yesterday of masterminding a plot to bomb Heathrow
Three young British Muslims who were turned into bombers while doing charity work in Pakistan are facing life behind bars after being convicted of plotting mass murder.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain were accused of conspiring to bring down at least seven transatlantic airliners in mid-air, using bombs hidden in soft drinks bottles. >>> By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter | September 9, 2008
BBC:
'Astonishment' at Terror Verdicts: Counter-terrorism officials are said to be "dismayed" by the outcome of a trial in which eight men were accused of a plot to blow up transatlantic planes.
Three men were convicted of conspiracy to murder but the jury did not convict any defendant of targeting aircraft. One man was cleared of all charges.
The BBC's Frank Gardner said there had been "astonishment" in Whitehall as the evidence was considered to be strong.
Prosecutors have until the end of the month to consider a retrial of the men. >>> | September 9, 2008
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