Three guilty of liquid bomb plots

Three Islamic extremists have been found guilty of conspiring to kill hundreds of people using homemade bombs in soft drinks bottles. But a jury at Woolwich Crown Court could not decide whether ringleader Abdullah Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27, had planned to blow up transatlantic passenger jets. The three were found guilty of conspiracy to murder using an ingenious form of hydrogen peroxide liquid bomb, but the jury could not agree on a second charge of conspiracy to detonate bombs on airliners. And jurors failed to reach verdicts on either charge in respect of four other suspects - Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, Waheed Zaman, 24, and Umar Islam, 30. All seven admitted making 'martyrdom videos' declaring their willingness to die and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause a public nuisance by recording the messages. An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, was cleared of all wrongdoing. The Crown Prosecution Service is now considering a retrial of the seven remaining defendants in respect of the plot to blow up airliners. It said in a statement: "The jury found there was a conspiracy to murder involving at least three men but failed to reach a verdict on whether the ambit of the conspiracy to murder included the allegation that they intended to detonate IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on transatlantic airliners in relation to seven of the men." The jury of eight men and four women had deliberated for more than 50 hours at the end of a trial that began in April. Tough airport baggage restrictions that wrecked holiday plans for thousands were introduced after the plot was exposed in August 2006, causing hundreds of cancelled flights, long delays and queues at UK airports. Ali, Hussain and Sarwar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life. They admitted planning to set off bombs but claimed the whole thing was a publicity stunt to protest against UK foreign policy, and said they did not intend to kill anyone. But prosecutors said the gang drew up a list of targets including the Houses of Parliament, gas terminals and oil refineries. Police said the plot was hatched in Pakistan with detailed instructions passed to Ali during frequent trips to its lawless border with Afghanistan. They believe a mystery al-Qaeda bombmaker is responsible for the design of the liquid bombs, which were hidden in 500ml Oasis or Lucozade bottles. In a video, Ali warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" that would leave body parts scattered in the streets. Sentencing will take place at a later date.

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ITN | September 8, 2008

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