Before looking at any of the content of this news item, the source of the publication?Ananova?must be thoroughly questioned. The Ananova news focuses on more light news, with six categories dedicated to “Celebrities,” “Quirkies,” and “Latest Picture Stories,” among “Top Headlines.” Another other open source corroboration was by the online Sun, an equally unreliable British rag. A few mainstream news agencies?BBC and Financial Times?have referenced the case, although details are lacking, perhaps because the case is ongoing. (Editor’s Note: What is included below has been culled from at least two sources.)
Looking at the actual content of the article, it is not a wild stretch that al-Qaeda would take issue with pubs and nightclubs, as was witnessed in Bali . Further, explosions using ammonium nitrate (AN) would also not be a stretch for al-Qaeda, given the relative ease in acquisition of the materials. Such a plot would likely have killed large numbers of civilians, a goal of al-Qaeda terrorism. Those targeted fall within the target set of al-Qaeda: allies of the US. And, finally those allegedly involved are Britons, with a Canadian and a US accomplice. These traits are hardly a new contention in al-Qaeda’s interest in attacking the West, and specifically the UK in this case.
If the report is true, Britain interdicted seven men who may have trained in camps in Pakistan in July 2003 and planned to target “pubs, nightclubs, and trains” in the UK between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004. While at the camps, they learned and practiced detonations of small AN IEDs, according to the BBC. The mere contention that the cell was training in Pakistan is at odds with current intelligence that indicates most jihadists opt to learn techniques and tactics online, through virtual training (see Terror Web Watch reports). The July 7, 2005 attack in London used TATP, but AN can also be created out of readily available products that are very difficult for authorities to regulate, according to Brennan Phillips, an EOD technician from ATF. The cell, however, would not have needed to smuggle the IED components from Belgium ?which has a burgeoning radicalized second/third generation Islamic population?as is suggested, as the materials could have been purchased as easily in the UK and transported locally without raising suspicions, especially since the report specifically notes the IED was to be 600 kilograms.
That size of a bomb, notably, is the same amount of AN as was used in 1993 to attack the World Trade Center and could have caused spectacular damage and casualties. AN IEDs, often called ANFO when fuel oil is mixed, have long been used in the UK. It was the hallmark of the Provisional IRA . The use of AN bombs may have been a consorted effort to disguise an attack as that of a PIRA effort. A similar effort was seen in Spain for the March 11, 2004 attacks in which authorities suspected separatist ETA due to explosive selection: plastic Goma-2 ECO, which has not been used by ETA since the 1980s (Terrorist Incident forthcoming) or titadine, which is used by ETA. Further, one of the men involved allegedly worked for critical infrastructure?the high voltage electricity system?that has long been a target of the al-Qaeda network. The connection of this to targeting pubs remains a bit disjointed and perhaps more sensational than necessary.
Two of the individuals involved in this case were said to have been working for al-Qaeda’s “Number Three” man, who may be Abdul Hadi, and the sole unresolved issue was specific target selection. The cell, arrested on March 30, 2004, has been identified as:
Omar Khyam (24): “at the center of operations”
Anthony Garcia (23): (aka Rahman Adam) may have been the weapons technician
Nabeel Hussain (20): a student at Brunel University, who may have been recruited for his blandness vis-?-vis authorities
Shujah Mahmood (19)
Waheed Mahmood (34): allegedly employed by National Grid Transco
Jawad Akbar (22)
Salahuddin Amin (31).
All have denied involvement and charges of conspiracy to cause explosions. The first three also face a charge under the 2000 Terrorism Act of possessing AN for terrorism purposes. Two are also charged with possessing aluminium powder. Canadian Mohammed Momin Khawaja has been named as a conspirator, as has US citizen Mohammed Babar, who has pleaded guilty for his role in the plot and will assist in the prosecution. Babar may also have links to al-Muhajiron .
The trial is expected to last for five months. If the cell is found to have been a legitimate threat to the UK, it will have been a tremendous discovery by police and Scotland Yard in their counter-terrorism efforts and in restoring public confidence, somewhat eroded after the July 7 and 21 acts in London. The surveillance and intelligence collection by the British authorities would likely have been a result of lessons learned in leadership, intelligence, and operations from the previous attacks.
