London: Four al Qaeda inspired Britons on Wednesday
pleaded guilty to plotting a Mumbai-style attack on the London
Stock Exchange, the American embassy and other targets during
the run up to Christmas in 2010.
Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and
Abdul Miah pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in
preparation for acts of terrorism.
The four men -- all British nationals with Bangladeshi or
Pakistani backgrounds -- from London and Cardiff, were
arrested in December 2010.
Five other men have pleaded guilty to other terrorism
offences and all nine will be sentenced next week.
The men, from London, Stoke and Cardiff, were inspired by
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP) and used their
English-language magazine `Inspire` as a guide.
They were inspired by the preachings of the recently-
killed radical extremist Anwar Al-Awlaki.
It emerged that those who admitted planning to target the
London Stock Exchange wanted to send five mail bombs to
various targets during the run up to Christmas 2010 and
discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity.
A hand-written target list discovered at the home of one
of the men listed the names and addresses of London Mayor
Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the US embassy and the Stock
Exchange.
The conspiracy was stopped by undercover anti-terror
police before firm dates could be set for attacks.
The terrorists met because of their membership of various
radical groups and stayed in touch over the internet, through
mobile phones and at specially arranged meetings.
They gathered in parks in a bid to make surveillance
difficult.
The court heard that Chowdhury, 21, and his London
accomplice Rahman, 28, were followed by undercover detectives
on November 28, 2010, observing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey,
the London Eye and the Palace of Westminster.
Chowdhury and Rahman admitted preparing for acts of
terrorism by planning to plant an improvised explosive device
in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange.
The men admitted the offences after a special hearing
which allows a defendant to hear from the judge what sentence
they may receive if they plead guilty on the eve of a trial.
Following the guilty pleas, DAC Stuart Osborne, from West
Midlands Police`s counter terrorism team, said: "We welcome
the guilty pleas entered by all nine defendants today,
following what was the largest counter terrorism operation of
2010.
PTI
