LONDON — A judge sentenced five men to life in prison Monday for plotting to attack targets in London, including a popular nightclub, power plants and shopping mall, with bombs made from a half-ton stockpile of fertilizer.
The trial for the first time exposed connections between the defendants and the deadly 2005 Al Qaeda-linked attack on the city's transit system.
Details kept secret to ensure a fair trial showed that counterterrorism agents tracking the five men had also stumbled onto the transit plotters. And despite disturbing signs that the transit plot was in the works, the agents failed to piece them together in time to prevent the July 7, 2005 bombings that killed 52 people, testimony and official briefings during the trial showed.
The revelations are at odds with statements by Tony Blair's government after the 2005 attack. Senior ministers, who a month earlier had lowered the country's alert status, said the 2005 attack was unexpected and the perpetrators unknown.
Omar Khyam was found guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions made from a chemical fertilizer that could endanger life. Also found guilty were Anthony Garcia, Jawad Akbar, Waheed Mahmood and Alahuddin Amin. (link)
Nice to see these guys will be put away for a very long time (not sure on the parole requirements in the UK) but notable that the AP article spends over half its time talking about what the British government didn't do, instead of what it did.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and you can always say should have or could have after the fact. The news of this trial and sentence needs to focus on the 'dids' not the 'did nots'.
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Reason to cheer
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