Couple guilty of London terror plot on 7/7 anniversary

A jury has found Islamic extremist Mohammed Rehman and his wife guilty of planning a terror attack on the 10th anniversary of the July 7 bombings.

A Reading couple, Mohammed Rehman and his wife Sana Ahmed Khan, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of preparing terrorist acts.

Using the Twitter name “Silent Bomber”, 25-year-old Mr Rehman use the social networking website asking for suggestions on which targets in the capital to choose: Westfield shopping centre or the Tube.

The Islamic extremist used money from his wife, 24-year-old Ms Khan, he stockpiled chemicals so that he could create a large bomb at their family home in Reading, filming himself setting off a small explosion in his garden.

The jury found Mr Rehman and Ms Khan guilty after three days of deliberation. Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC said the Reading pair shared a “common interest” in violent Islamic ideology and that Mr Rehman had “wished to play his own part” in the activities of the so-called Islamic State.

They had both researched the four suicide bombers who killed 52 people in London on 7 July 2005. He called one of the perpetrators, Shehzad Tanweer, as his “beloved predecessor”.

Counter-terrorism officers halted the plot following the discovery of Mr Rehman’s tweet about deciding on a target for their planned attack on London. An undercover officer began corresponding with Mr Rehman online, with the 25 year old saying he was preparing for martyrdom.

He also tweeted: “Now I just make explosives in preparation for kuffar lol and when I’ve made the required amount I’ll be wearing them on my chest.”

Mr Rehman and Ms Khan were arrested on May 28.

In a police interview, Mr Rehman admitted making and testing explosives but denied intending to harm anyone. The pair denied any wrongdoing and refused to give evidence in the trial.

Susan Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) counter-terrorism division, said: “The pair had been very close to carrying out an attack, all they required was to purchase the chemicals to make a detonator.

”There is little doubt that, had Rehman and Ahmed Khan not been stopped when they were, they would have attempted to carry out an act of terrorism in London.“

Sentencing will take place on Wednesday or Thursday.