A British terrorist cell with alleged links to Al-Qaeda discussed bombing revellers at a large central London nightclub as well as targeting several synagogues in London and one in Manchester, a prosecutor said Wednesday. One of the defendants, Salahuddin Amin, even discussed trying to buy a radio-isotope "dirty bomb" from the Russian mafia, but nothing appeared to have come from his enquiries, prosecutor David Waters told a London jury.On the second day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court, Waters also said Amin, 31, and co-accused Omar Khyam, 24, received instruction in Pakistan about how to make the poison ricin while there for explosives training. The group, which allegedly had help in its preparations in Pakistan and Canada, discussed potential targets at the home of Jawad Akbar, 22, on February 22, 2004, he said.
But the talks were overheard by the British security services and anti-terrorism police, who had bugged the house, he added. "Jawad Akbar referred to attacks upon the utilities, gas, water or electrical supplies. Alternatively, a big nightclub in central London might be a target," Waters said. The plot involved detonating a bomb made with ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder and using encrypted radio transmissions, he added.
Waters also suggested that several synagogues in London and one in Manchester, northwest England, that appeared on a list found at the house of two of the defendants, could also have been potential targets. Group members are alleged to have trained in explosives at a camp in Pakistan and obtained 600 kilogrammes (1,322 pounds) of ammonium nitrate fertiliser for use in Britain.
Arrests were made on March 30, 2004, when plans were moving towards a "final phase", although Amin was picked up on February 8 last year after arriving from Islamabad, Waters said. Before that, Khyam, who was allegedly "at the centre of operations", was said to have discussed, both by e-mail and in person, making remote detonators with Canadian Mohammed Momin Khawaja.
Khawaja is awaiting trial there in connection with the alleged plot after being arrested in Toronto a week after his return from meeting Khyam and Shuja Mahmood, 19, his brother and co-defendant.
The others -- one of whom worked for a contractor to British utility National Grid Transco -- were heard discussing bombs, praising the Madrid train bombings and raising the possibility of carrying out a "little explosion" at a British shopping centre. One, 23-year-old Anthony Garcia, also known as Rahman Adam, wrote a farewell letter to his younger brother that was found at his girlfriendÂ’s house, the court heard.
Waters said Amin had made enquiries about acquiring a radio-isotope bomb after going to Pakistan, although his search was apparently fruitless. Amin himself later told police he did not believe the offer of atomic material for a "dirty bomb" -- where radioactive material is spread over a large area by a conventional explosive -- was genuine. But the lawyer stressed that whether the possibility of acquiring and using a "dirty bomb" was realistic or not, Amin had made a "fundamental and a concrete and immensely important contribution" to the conspiracy.
Waters said Tuesday that Waheed Mahmood, 34, was a supporter of Al-Qaeda, and that he, Khyam and his brother worked for a man called Abdul Hadi, whom Khyam reportedly described as Al-QaedaÂ’s number three.
All six men as well as Nabeel Hussain, 20, deny conspiracy to cause explosions with Khawaja and unknown others plus separate counts of possessing articles for terrorism.