Three members of a group accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic aircraft with liquid explosives in 2006 were found guilty by a court in London today. Abdulla Ahmed Ali, described as the leader of the eight-man group, was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of conspiring to murder hundreds of people, as were two others, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain. The jury failed to reach verdicts on four other defendants: Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan, Waheed Zaman and Umar Islam. An eighth man, Mohammed Gulzar, was found not guilty on all counts.
The trial considered charges that the men planned to smuggle the explosives in soft drink bottles on board aircraft flying from London's main Heathrow airport to North America. The home-made devices would then have been set off in flight, causing carnage in the skies, prosecutors alleged during the three-and-a-half-month trial. All of the men, who were arrested in August 2006, denied charges of conspiracy to murder. The plot led to tight restrictions being introduced on carrying liquids on board aircraft.
Three of the defendants pleaded guilty to plotting explosions. Seven admitted conspiracy to commit public nuisance by distributing al Qa'eda videos threatening suicide bomb attacks in Britain. * AFP
