Trial of Transatlantic Airliner Bomb Plotters Continues
It has emerged during the trial of eight men who, it is claimed, plotted to detonate bombs on transatlantic airliners, that they had put together Islamic martyrdom videos. Of these eight men, six recorded videos, with one of the accused warning that "martyrdom operations" would "rain down" on those that did not believe.
Aside from exploding bombs in the air, the men also looked into targeting sites such as Canary Wharf in London, and power stations, according to those prosecuting them.
Each of the eight men denies plotting to kill people on board airliners.
Airport Liquid Restrictions
The octet was originally arrested in 2006. Following this, restrictions were imposed on travellers at airports, meaning the majority of liquids were prohibited from being taken on board aircraft.
The eight men - Abdul Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar, Tanvir Hussain, Mohammed Gulzar, Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan, Waheed Zaman and Umar Islam - are currently being trialled at Woolwich Crown Court.
Suicide Videos
On the 4th April, members of the jury were played sections from a number of claimed suicide videos. One of these videos included footage of a man - understood to be Mr Islam - talking of how "revenge" would be enacted both on the US, and on "accomplices such as the British and the Jews".
The man added: "Martyrdom operations upon martyrdom operations will keep on raining on these kuffars [non-believers] until they release us and leave our lands."
He continued by describing how, in his eyes, British people represented valid targets since their taxes had contributed towards Army funding.
"Most of you are too busy watching Home and Away and EastEnders, complaining about the World Cup and drinking alcohol, too busy to care. I know because I come from that", he stated.
Another man - understood to be Mr Ali - said: "Sheikh Osama [Bin Laden] has warned you many times to leave our lands or you will be destroyed, and now the time has come for you to be destroyed."
The same man spoke of "floods of martyr operations" against those not of Muslim faith - "operations" that, he said, would distribute "the people and your body parts and your people's body parts" so that they were "decorating the streets".
In another of the recordings, another man - understood to be Mr Zaman - warned: "Remember as you kill us, you will be killed. As you bomb us, you will be bombed."
According to Peter Wright QC, these videos "were significant", as they illustrated how the eight men "contemplated losing their lives in some violent act."
"We suggest the tenor of these remarks leaves little room for any degree of ambiguity", he commented
Liquid Explosives Plot: Police Operation
All eight men are accused of conspiring to deploy liquid explosives on board flights departing London Heathrow Airport.
The men were arrested after a two-day police operation which uncovered the plot, and which saw large numbers of flights into and out of the UK cancelled or delayed.
Details have come out during the trial of how the men gathered in the materials required to construct their bombs - syringes, wires and a large amount of hydrogen peroxide among them. These bombs, say the prosecution, would have been taken on board aircraft under the pretence that they were 500 millilitre soft drinks.
Airport International will continue to provide updates from this highly significant trial as more facts emerge.
Source - Airport International's London Reporter
Recent related News Items:
