Failed Exeter suicide bomber faces sentence
- 00:00:52
- ITN
Failed Exeter suicide bomber faces sentence
A Muslim convert is due to be sentenced for carrying out a failed suicide nail bomb attack in a crowded restaurant. Nicky Reilly, 22, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and preparing a terrorist attack in Exeter in May. He faces a lengthy jail sentence when he appears at the Old Bailey later. Dozens of customers at the Giraffe restaurant fled in panic after the bomb partially exploded in the toilets. Reilly intended to run out into the packed dining area clutching the caustic soda bottle bomb to his stomach, the court heard. But the bomber, who has a history of mental illness, could not open the toilet cubicle door in the seconds after he set the bomb to explode. The delay caused the volatile nail-filled device to detonate in his hands, leaving him badly injured. Reilly, of Plymouth, converted to Islam about five years ago and will appear in court under the name Mohammad Rashid Saeed Alim. Police said he was encouraged and helped by at least two untraced Islamic extremists who contacted him via his YouTube webpage. Reilly also considered bombing Charles Cross Police Station, Plymouth's Drake Circus shopping centre and Devonport Dockyard. Officers said he also used the internet to research how to make bombs using caustic soda, kerosene and nails. One senior investigator said he worshipped Osama bin Laden and quoted the al-Qaeda leader in a suicide note left at his home.
ITN | November 21, 2008
