Posted on 03/23/2006 11:14:15 AM PST by blam
US citizen tells of links with 'UK terror cell'
Staff and agencies
Thursday March 23, 2006
An American citizen with links to al-Qaida appeared at the Old Bailey today to give evidence against seven British men charged with conspiring to carry out a UK bombing campaign. Mohammed Babar, 31, who was born in Pakistan, arrived at the central London court amid heavy security after being transported by police from a secret location.
He has already pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to being part of an alleged British plot and has been given immunity from prosecution in the UK.
Mr Babar told the court that he was a member of a terror cell that included the seven British men on trial, meeting several of them in terrorist training camps in Pakistan.
The seven men, from the Crawley, Luton, Horley and Ilford areas around London, deny plotting to carry out attacks in London using bombs made from ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder.
They allegedly considered blowing up Bluewater, in Kent, one of Europe's busiest shopping centres, or targeting a nightclub in central London.
One of the men was also involved in a plot to buy a nuclear bomb, the court was told yesterday.
In his first day of evidence today, Mr Babar told the court he had always held strong political beliefs but became increasingly incensed by coalition actions during the first Iraq war.
He decided to travel to Afghanistan within a week of the attacks of September 11 because he knew the US would attack the country. His mother worked in the twin towers and escaped the attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Hmmm, NSA listening in on him I hope.
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