Married couple jailed for life over London bomb attempt

LONDON

A married couple has been jailed for life for planning a suicide bombing to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the London terror attacks.

Mohammed Rehman, 25, and his 24-year-old wife Sana Ahmed Khan worked together to build a bomb and carried out test explosions in the back garden of their home.

Using the internet pseudonym Silent Bomber, Rehman then asked Twitter users on which target to choose.

Prosecutors said the couple had been “very close” to carrying out an attack in London.

A judge gave them both life sentences on Wednesday, ordering Rehman to serve at least 27 years in prison. His wife Khan will serve 25 years before being considered for parole.

The previous day they had both been found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism by a jury at London’s Old Bailey criminal court. Rehman was also convicted of possessing an article for terrorist purposes.

Their trial heard the couple had a “common interest” in violent extremism and had often researched the suicide bombers who struck London’s transport network on 7 July 2005, killing 52 people.

Khan transferred funds of more than £14,000 ($20,700) into Rehman’s bank account, allowing him to purchase chemical explosives on eBay. He filmed the test explosions he carried out in his garden and sent the videos to his wife.

On 12 May 2015, Rehman posted on Twitter: “Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly.”

Prosecutors told the court he was asking users where to target on the tenth anniversary of the attacks.

Susan Hemming, Head of Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The intention to carry out some form of terrorism attack was clear from the threatening statements made in Rehman's tweets. It was these tweets that led to his and his wife's arrest.

“Investigations found that Rehman and Ahmed Khan had carried out huge amounts of research relating to terrorist attacks -- repeatedly searching the Internet for videos relating to the London bombings. 10kg of Urea Nitrate were found at Rehman's house, a highly explosive chemical, which if detonated would have caused multiple fatalities on the London Underground.

“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.”