Group ‘rejected suicide attacks for long-term terror campaign’

Within weeks of joining together, the extremists who drew inspiration from al-Qaida plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and to arrange for Britons to undergo terrorist training in Pakistan, London’s Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Between them, the nine men possessed “almost every famous jihadi publication”, including copies of an English-language online al-Qaida magazine called Inspire, the prosecution said.

Inspire’s first issue featured an article on how to “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom”, complete with pictures and step-by-step instructions.

An expert concluded this would enable someone within a few hours to produce a “viable” device capable of killing or maiming people, the court heard.

Another issue included a feature on how to build the “ultimate mowing machine” by welding blades to a 4x4 car and driving it into pedestrians.

The author said such a vehicle could be used in Britain, noting: “In such countries, we may strike at the public at large.”

The nine men – Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, and Shah Rahman, 28, both from London; Gurukanth Desai, 30, Abdul Miah, 25, and Omar Latif, 28, all from Cardiff; and Usman Khan, 20, Mohammed Shahjahan 27, Nazam Hussain, 26, and Mohibur Rahman, 27, all from Stoke-on-Trent – pleaded guilty last week to a variety of terrorist offences.

Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC, opening the Crown’s case at the start of a three-day sentencing hearing, said: “These defendants had in overview decided that ultimately they would be responsible for very serious acts of terrorism.

“What was observed during the indictment period was planning for the immediate future, not involving suicide attacks, so that there would be a long-term future which would include further acts of terrorism.”

The men formed the extremist network at a meeting in Cardiff and were well advanced in their terrorist planning when police swooped to arrest them on December 20, the court heard.

Some London and Cardiff members of the group discussed launching a “Mumbai-style” atrocity, while the Stoke extremists talked about setting off pipe bombs in the toilets of two pubs.

A handwritten target list found at one of the defendants’ homes listed the names and addresses of London mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the American embassy and the London Stock Exchange.

The prosecutor said the Stoke members decided to recruit fellow British radicals to undergo terrorist training.

The prosecutor added: “There is evidence against each of these nine defendants either proving that they had detailed knowledge of the contents of Inspire or that they actually possessed copies of it themselves.”

The court heard that some of the defendants already had convictions and were known to the British authorities.

But Mr Edis said having a high profile could in itself be “a form of cover” because it was hard to spot when someone with extreme views was converted to plotting an attack.

All the men are British citizens, apart from Chowdhury and Shah Rahman, who were born in Bangladesh but had been living in the UK for some time.

Desai and Miah were bugged talking about how Hitler “had been on the same side as the Muslims” because he understood that “the Jews were dangerous”, the court heard.

The hearing continues.