Couple found guilty of planning London terror attack

Published December 29, 2015
A combination of two undated handout pictures shows (L-R) Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan. ─AFP
A combination of two undated handout pictures shows (L-R) Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan. ─AFP

LONDON: A British court on Tuesday convicted a husband and wife of planning a terror attack on the 10th anniversary of the London suicide bombings earlier this year.

Mohammed Rehman, 25, used the Twitter name "Silent Bomber" and asked users whether he should bomb a shopping centre or the London Underground train network.

Rehman used as his profile picture an image of the Islamic State group militant known as "Jihadi John", believed killed earlier this year, and was said by prosecutors to have had a "keen interest" in IS.

He was arrested in May after posting a tweet saying: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be greatly appreciated."

Related: Shops or Tube? London bomb suspect 'asked Twitter for advice'

That was accompanied by a link to an Al-Qaeda press release about the July 2005 bombings in which four suicide bombers targeted London's transport system. Fifty-two people were killed.

The couple were accused of planning their attack around May 28.

Rehman was convicted alongside his wife Sana Ahmed Khan at London's Old Bailey criminal court.

Police also seized more than 10 kilogrammes of urea nitrate, which can be used to manufacture a large bomb, from their house and he filmed himself testing explosives in their back garden.

"Given his prior knowledge, experience and the ready availability of the chemicals, the manufacture of a detonator would have taken no more than a couple of days and could have been done by him much quicker if he chose to," prosecutor Tony Badenoch told the court.

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...