Britain 'Deserved Its Own 9/11 Attack'

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 3-28-2006 | Duncan Gardham

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Britain 'deserved its own 9/11 attack'

By Duncan Gardham
(Filed: 28/03/2006)

Britain deserved its own September 11 according to one of the leaders of an al-Qa'eda cell planning a bomb attack, a court heard yesterday.

Omar Khyam from Crawley, West Sussex, suggested hitting pubs, nightclubs and trains in revenge for Britain's involvement in the Middle East.

Court artist's sketch of Omar Khyam

Mohammed Babar, who has turned informant on his associates, said he was sitting on the couch in a flat in Lahore, Pakistan, when Khyam told him Britain "needed to be hit."

Babar told the Old Bailey: "We were talking about the UK and he said the UK needed to be hit. He said 9/11 happened in America and nothing had happened in the UK.

"He said the UK was as responsible as the Americans for what is happening in the Middle East."

Babar, 31, who was brought up in New York, said they went on to discuss making bombs and possible targets.

"We talked about detonators and transportation. He said we need to hit certain spots like pubs, nightclubs and trains."

The gang is said to have built up a collection of bomb-making equipment which they stored in a wardrobe in Babar's flat, where the conversation took place.

The jury has been shown a photograph of Anthony Garcia, from Ilford, Essex, one of the alleged terrorists, posing in front of the wardrobe.

It contained ammonium nitrate, aluminium powder and urea, along with beakers, a sieve and a propane stove.

There were also beans of ricin, which could be ground down for poison.

The court heard the gang used chat rooms to communicate, pretending to be men and women flirting.

"Anyone watching the chatroom would think it was idle chatter between a male and a female," Babar said.

They had collected £8,500 in cash from relatives, some of which Babar had delivered to a tribal chief in Malakand, who built an extension to his house for them.

Omar Khyam, 24, his brother Shujah ud din Mahmood, 19, Jawad Akbar, 22, Nabeel Hussain, 20, and Waheed Mahmood, 34, all from Crawley, West Sussex, along with Anthony Garcia, 24, from Ilford, Essex, and Salahuddin Amin, 31, from Luton, Beds, all deny conspiracy to cause explosions.

The trial continues.

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"He said the UK was as responsible as the Americans for what is happening in the Middle East."


Wearily, once again the folks in the Middle East dodge all responsibility for what happens within their own region. It's always easier to point at the boogeyman and lay all blame there. I personally suspect shame has a lot to do with this.