Thread: Britons Jailed Over Al Qaeda Plot To Bomb NYSE

Britons jailed over al Qaeda plot to bomb NYSE

Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:32PM EDT

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LONDON (Reuters) - Seven Britons linked to a plot to blow up U.S. financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, and stage a series of attacks in Britain were jailed for a total of 136 years by a London court on Friday.

Prosecutors said the men were part of a group headed by senior al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot and described as "one of the most dangerous and ambitious terrorist cells ever to operate in this country".

Barot is currently serving a life jail term after admitting last year he had planned bomb attacks in Britain and the United States.

Six of the men, Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Junade Feroze, Zia Ul Haq, Abdul Aziz Jalil, Nadeem Tarmohamed and Omar Abdur Rehman pleaded guilty to conspiring with Barot to cause explosions between 2001 and 2004.

The seventh, Qaisar Shaffi, was found guilty on Wednesday.

Barot, a Muslim convert, was considered by some U.S. officials to be either al Qaeda's cell leader in Europe or at least the head of bin Laden's organization in Britain.

In early 2001, he had carried out surveillance on the NYSE, Citigroup, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Prudential in New York, Washington, and Newark, New Jersey.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, he turned his attention to Britain and had plotted coordinated attacks using a radioactive "dirty bomb", limousines filled with gas cylinders and the blowing up of an underground train beneath the River Thames.

Had their plans come to fruition, Barot's trial judge said they would have caused "carnage and butchery ... on a colossal and unprecedented scale". Continued...His seven accomplices had helped put the plans together and scope out targets.

Peter Clarke, head of London's Counter Terrorism Command, said the men were vital to the plots.

"They were the planning team and were needed by Barot to contribute expertise in areas that he was lacking," he said.

"They were the trusted few who researched, carried out reconnaissance and supported Barot."

At Woolwich Crown Court in south London, Feroze was jailed for 22 years; Bhatti and Tarmohamed to 20 years; Ul Haq to 18 years; Jalil to 26 years; Rehman and Shaffi to 15 years.

Last month, the High Court cut Barot's jail term from 40 to 30 years after it was ruled the initial sentence was too harsh.

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Dirty bomb plotters caged


By ONLINE REPORTER
June 15, 2007

SEVEN members of a terror cell run by al-Qaeda "general" Dhiren Barot were jailed for a total of 136 years today.

Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Junade Feroze, Zia Ul Haq, Abdul Aziz Jalil, Omar Abdur Rehman, Qaisar Shaffi and Nadeem Tarmohamed were vital to his deadly plans to attack the UK and the US, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Barot was jailed for life last year for plotting to kill "hundreds if not thousands" of people using explosives-packed limousines and a "dirty" radiation bomb.

Click here to see video of the dirty bomb plotters


Sentencing the men at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Justice Butterfield said: "Barot was the instigator of this terrorist planning, he was by some considerable distance the principal participant in the conspiracy.

"Each one of you was recruited by Barot and assisted him at his request."

"Anyone who chooses to participate in such a plan ... will receive little sympathy from the courts."

The judge told the defendants the suffering their families would experience "is but a tiny fraction of the suffering that would have been experienced had your plans been translated into reality".

Jalil, 34, from Luton, Bedfordshire, was jailed for 26 years, Feroze, 31, from Blackburn, Lancashire, for 22 years and Bhatti, 27, from Harrow, north London and Tarmohamed, 29, from Willesden, north west London, for 20 years each.



Caged ... Qaisar Shaffi, Omar Abdur Rehman, Aziz Jalil



Ul Haq, 28, from Paddington, west London, was given 18 years and Rehman, 23, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, and Shaffi, 28, from Willesden, north west London, 15 years each.

Shaffi was convicted of conspiracy to murder after a month-long trial which ended earlier this week.

The other six pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, Head of the MPS Counter Terrorism Command and National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations, said:

"Dhiren Barot and his gang were determined terrorists who planned bombings on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We know Barot was the ringleader of this terrorist cell. However, he needed the help of the seven men who have been jailed today.



Caged ... Junade Feroze, Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Zia Ul Haq, Nadeem Tarmohamed



“Six of these men pleaded guilty to being willing participants in a plot which could have led to the deaths of many innocent people. Faced with the overwhelming evidence against them, they were left with little choice but to plead guilty.

“The seventh man, Qaisir Shaffi denied the charges, but the jury saw through his lies.

“The plans for a series of co-ordinated attacks in the United Kingdom included packing three limousines with gas cylinders and explosives before setting them off in underground car parks. This could have caused huge loss of life. The plans to set off a dirty bomb in this country would have caused fear, panic and widespread disruption.

“The seven men jailed today were not the instigators of the planned attacks. But they were the planning team and were needed by Barot to contribute expertise in areas that he was lacking.

“They were the trusted few who researched, carried out reconnaissance and supported Barot. Each had a different role to play.

“Barot needed minders and drivers - people who could look after him as he carried out reconnaissance and conducted his meetings. He needed people to carry out research, gain access to specialist libraries, supply vehicles, false identities and travel documents, bank accounts, money and safe houses.

“These terrorists were skilled in anti-surveillance techniques, the use of coded messages and arranging secret meetings. Indeed, on one occasion Feroze and Jalil travelled literally hundreds of miles to use an internet café before returning to London to continue with their planning.

“The bulk of the evidence which shows the parts played by these men emerged not from surveillance but from enquiries carried out after they were arrested. There was painstaking examination of the mass of material found during searches. A huge amount of this material was on computers, some of it encrypted or deleted.

“The evidence in this case was obtained through close co-operation with the Security Service and our international partners. All parties involved in Operation Rhyme can be proud of the part they played in stopping this group before they could attack.



http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007270789,00.html