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September 7, 2009 Mass murder at 30,000 feet: Islamic extremists guilty of airline bomb plot Philippe Naughton Three British Muslims were found guilty today of conspiracy to murder thousands of passengers and crew in an unprecedented airline bomb plot that could have proved as deadly as the 9/11 attacks. After a retrial at Woolwich Crown Court, jurors found the ringleader, Abdulla Ahmed, and two other men, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, guilty of plotting to use liquid bombs to blow up airliners en route from Heathrow to the United States. Another defendant, Umar Islam, was found guilty of a more...

Attacks on nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals, Canary Wharf and Heathrow’s control tower were being considered by leaders of the plot to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-flight, a court was told yesterday. Documents found on computer memory sticks at the home of an alleged terrorist ringleader contained a list of targets across Britain – including the gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium. The man, Assad Sarwar, was said to be in contact with terrorist leaders overseas and visited Pakistan a month before his arrest as preparations for the airline attacks were being finalised. Peter Wright, QC,...

Two of the men arrested on suspicion of being involved in a terror plot to blow up a series of transatlantic planes had converted to Islam, it emerged. Ibrahim Savant, from Walthamstow, east London, changed his name from Oliver when he converted, according to neighbours. The 25-year-old student, whose Muslim wife is reportedly pregnant, was arrested at his family home in Folkestone Road. Another suspect, who was not named by police, converted to Islam just six months ago. He was arrested during a raid at a house in Hepplewhite Close, High Wycombe. According to locals, the property belonged to...

LONDON - The Bank of England froze the assets of 19 people early Friday, naming them as people arrested Thursday in connection with an alleged terror plot to bomb British passenger jets. "On the advice of the police and security services, the Treasury has instructed the Bank of England to issue notices to effect a freeze of the assets of a number of individuals arrested in yesterday's operations," a Treasury statement said. Most of those named in the list were London residents, and many bore Muslim names. Scotland Yard had no immediate comment. The bank released the following names: Abdula...