[TheSun] The 19-year-old from Hounslow was incarceratedDrop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
on Thursday after allegedly trying to obtain weapons and explosives online
A PLOT to nail bomb crowds at an Elton John gig and at Buckingham Palace would have been on the scale of 7/7, a court heard yesterday.
Student Haroon Ali Syed’s terror plan was allegedly inspired by IS and is also said to have targeted London’s busy Oxford Street and military bases. The 19-year-old allegedly intended to strike at a concert by Sir Elton in London’s Hyde Park on the anniversary of 9/11. Police believe he originally planned to be a jacket wallah, and wanted to buy machine guns or pistols to carry out a "lone wolf" killing spree.
Prosecutor Thomas Halpin told Westminster magistrates’ court: "It is alleged Haroon Syed was planning a terrorist attack in the UK.
"This defendant was attempting to carry out a terror attack on the scale of 7/7 or something like that."
He allegedly discussed his plans online before meeting a man at a shopping centre with £150 to pay a bomb maker. Cops believe he planned to set off a bomb with a remote timer.
Syed claimed he knew a number of people who were willing to help carry out the attack, although none have emerged.
The gangly student only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address. During a 15-minute hearing he fiddled with his thin beard and appeared to smirk as details of the allegations against him were made by Mr Halpin.
The prosecutor said: "What started out as professed intent to become a suicide bomber crystallised into a plan to kill as many ’Kuffar’ (unbelievers) as possible with a nail bomb."
Syed allegedly made a number of applications for loans worth £8,000 to finance the attack but all were declined. Last month it is believed he applied for the money online, variously claiming it was for a cycle of violence, a wedding and home improvements.
It is claimed he spent most of the month watching IS beheading videos and propaganda before settling on his target.
Syed, of Hounslow, West London, is charged with preparing acts of terrorism between April 12 and September 9, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.
The former IT student at West Thames College was arrested last Thursday at his home, along with two other men who have since been released on police bail pending investigations.
His solicitor Tony Lodge indicated a bail application would be made in the future but did not argue the case in court. The judge told Syed he would be remanded in jug until the next hearing at the Old Bailey on September 19.