Five British men suspected of plotting a bombing campaign appeared in a London court on terrorism and explosives charges. The five were arrested in a huge police operation last month that retrieved more than half a ton of potentially explosive fertilizer. Anthony Garcia, 21; Omar Khyam, 22; Nabeel Hussain, 19; Jawad Akbar, 20; and Waheed Mahmoud, 32, were ordered detained until their next court hearing on Thursday. They spoke only to confirm their names during Saturday's appearance at London's high-security Belmarsh Magistrates Court. The five were among eight men arrested March 30 during anti-terrorist raids across southeast England in which police seized 1,300 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer frequently used in bombs, from a self-storage warehouse. A ninth man was arrested two days later.
| Unless they've got a farm someplace, they've got some 'splainin' to do... |
The raids, involving 700 police officers, were one of the largest anti-terrorist operations in Britain in years. The arrests spurred intense media speculation about a plan by Islamic militants to bomb civilian targets in Britain, but police have released no details of the alleged plot. Three of the five suspects —Garcia, Khyam and Hussein —were charged under anti-terrorism legislation with possessing the fertilizer for possible use in "the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism." Garcia, Khyam, Akbar and Mahmoud were charged with conspiracy to cause explosions, an offense that falls under ordinary British criminal law. A 17-year-old arrested at the same time was charged last week with the same explosives offense and is being held in custody. Three other men arrested in the raids were released on bail pending further inquiries into non-terrorist offenses. A Canadian, Mohammad Momin Khawaja, appeared in court in Ottawa last week on terrorist charges that police say are related to the British plot.
Also Saturday, a French national was ordered held on unrelated terrorism charges. Jacques Karim Abi-Ayad, 39, was charged Friday with possessing a document "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism." He was ordered detained until a court appearance next Friday. He had been arrested on April 2 near his home town of Ipswich, southeast England on suspicion of holding false documents. |