London, Dec 30: A British couple was convicted on Tuesday of plotting an attack in London after the husband sent out tweets asking for advice on which targets he should hit, alerting police to a stockpile of chemicals at their home.
Mohammed Rehman, 25, and Sana Ahmed Khan, 24, were found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of engaging in the preparation of terrorist acts, with a view to hitting either a large shopping centre in the capital or the London underground network.
“Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly,” Rehman said on Twitter, under the name “Silent Bomber”.
The couple, who denied the charges, are to be sentenced at a later date.
The British prosecutor said on Tuesday the two Britons had carried out detailed research into militant attacks, including searching the internet for videos related to the London transport bombings which killed 52 people a decade ago.
Those attacks were carried out on July 7, 2005 when four young British Muslims traveled from northern England to the capital to detonate homemade bombs hidden in rucksacks on three underground trains and a bus during the morning rush-hour.
British media reports said Rehman and Sana had planned to carry out an attack to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of those earlier bombings.
Rehman, who was also found guilty of possessing an article for terrorist purposes, had carried out test bombs in his garden which he filmed and sent to his wife, and she had also helped to purchase the chemicals, the prosecutor said.
