British Muslim Abu Omar has told how the mastermind behind 9/11 urged him to carry out a suicide bombing in London. Omar, who joined al-Qaeda after travelling to Afghanistan to study Islam under the Taliban, was asked during a private meeting with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to become "a martyr". Omar said: "He asked me if I'd be interested in doing a martyrdom operation. I just laughed and said there was no way I could do that."Mohammed - described by the 9/11 Commission as the "principle architect" of the atrocity - did not attempt to pressure Omar into a suicide role. But he was encouraged to take an active part in al-Qaeda attacks in the British capital by carrying out surveillance missions for bombers. And he and other recruits were summoned to meetings with Mohammed and other al-Qaeda leaders and asked to propose terror targets.
Omar, who was raised a Christian, decided a year after converting to Islam to travel to Afghanistan and study his new faith under the country's radical and austere Taliban regime. But he was soon learning how to wage a terror war against the West, and within weeks had gone from someone with no interest in military affairs to being able to strip and reassemble an AK47 assault rifle in 60 seconds. He said: "I wanted to learn about Islam. I knew nothing about warfare. The closest I had been to that was probably watching Dad's Army."
Omar jetted out of the UK in October 2001, arriving in Pakistan just weeks after 9/11. He made contact with Islamic extremists and was smuggled over the border into Afghanistan - arriving in the capital Kabul as mujahideen fighters were retreating from coalition forces. Omar, who is in his 30s, said: "It was pretty frightening but we were not there for very long and eventually I caught a truck out. There were planes overhead and bombs were exploding in the distance."
Omar was taken to a training camp in Khost, where he met two fellow recruits from London, Kazi Rahman and Abdul Khalisadar. Rahman was jailed for nine years in May 2006 by an Old Bailey judge for trying to buy missiles to shoot down airliners. Khalisadar was jailed for 10 years last month for raping a 27-year-old woman in East London. Soon after Omar arrived at the training camp, he was advised to get himself some weapons - and was told to ask Ramzi Binalshibh, another key plotter behind 9/11.
Omar said: "Binalshibh was pointed out to me so I asked him and got a Kalashnikov, some grenades, and an ammunition belt with a few magazines on it. It was the first time I'd spoken to him but after that
Omar - who has changed his name to avoid al-Qaeda reprisals - also told how, at one point, he met a Saudi claiming to have seen Osama bin Laden. The Saudi told him the al-Qaeda chief was fleeing his mountain stronghold of Tora Bora during an attack by US bombers. Omar said: "I didn't think much of it at the time. To be honest I didn't really know much about him and his name hardly came up."
Days later, Omar, along with other fighters fled Khost as American jets bombed nearby. As the coalition offensive intensified, Omar, Khalisadar and others were smuggled back into Pakistan. It was there - in a safe house in the city of Karachi - that Omar was taken to see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who made the suicide bomber request.
Omar said: "He was No3 or No4 in al-Qaeda but I didn't really know that he was such a major figure. The understanding I had was that the people they wanted to go after were Army officers and other people involved in conflict, rather than civilians, because that might harm the jihad."
At another meeting, he took part in a brainstorming exercise about potential targets. He added: "When we had the meeting in the house to get ideas about who we could kill, there were about 15 of us sitting around on cushions. Mohammed and Binalshibh were there and there was an Egyptian who had a white board and we would go up and put our plans on it. I was with Khalisadar and his idea was to attack a convoy of VIPs. Other people suggested bombing a US embassy in one of the Arab countries and killing the Saudi king."
While Omar was at the Karachi house waiting for a chance to return to the UK, he was again asked by Binalshibh to carry out terrorist activities in London. Binalshibh suggested Omar use an internet cafe in Victoria to contact other al-Qaeda cell members. Omar added: "He asked would I carry out operations and I asked what that meant. He said, 'Surveillance and that sort of thing'. He didn't give me any targets and there wasn't anything specific mentioned but I was told to keep in touch when I got back."
During his time in Karachi, Omar also took part in training exercises using toy guns. He said: "We were taught how to clear rooms, that sort of thing. It does seem silly now, I'll admit, but it was a good laugh at the time."
Uk security sources said Omar - a former petty criminal and drug dealer - is no longer a threat. One added: "We are aware of this individual. He has been actively monitored and it is assessed that he does not currently pose a threat to national security."