Couple plotted Christmas bomb carnage
A TERRORIST planned a Christmas bombing campaign with his girlfriend after he pledged allegiance on Facebook to an Isil commander looking for volunteers to carry out “lone wolf ” attacks.
Munir Hassan Mohammed sent messages to the commander in Iraq or Syria and downloaded terrorist publications, as the couple plotted to make bombs and toxins together.
The 36-year-old from Sudan also researched how to make ricin while he worked 12-hour shifts at a food manufacturer, his trial was told.
Mohammed and Rowaida El-hassan were last night facing years in prison after being convicted of plotting “devastating” carnage over Christmas 2016 with an Isil-inspired bomb.
Mohammed enlisted the help of Elhassan, a 33-year-old pharmacist, and drew on her chemical knowledge after seeking her out on a dating website called Singlemuslim.com.
At the time of his arrest in December 2016, Mohammed had components for homemade explosives, as well as manuals on how to make them, mobile phone detonators, and ricin.
The Old Bailey was told that Mohammed had made contact with a suspected Isil organiser called “Abubakr Kurdi”, who is believed to have been in Iraq or Syria. Kurdi was using Facebook to identify possible recruits for “lone wolf ” attacks and Mohammed was recommended by a mutual contact.
Mohammed pledged his allegiance and offered to participate in “a new job in the UK”. Amber Rudd, the Home
Secretary, has criticised web giants for doing too little to stop terrorists using their sites.
Kurdi at one point suggested his followers “inject poison in drinks or foods that are prohibited in Islam… Study different types of poison and their preparation methods… It will kill hundreds in a few moments”.
Det Chief Insp Paul Greenwood, of the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, told the BBC after the trial that while Mohammed had apparently chosen a bomb plot instead, his presence at the food factory in Burton-on-trent had been a risk.
He said: “He had a viable instructional video of how to manufacture the toxin ricin, he had that know-how. He certainly was a risk, I think had that food company known, had we known of his interest in ricin and his link to that food company we would have taken steps to protect the public and to prevent him from continuing that employment there.”
Jurors were told the pair had “rapidly formed emotional attachment and a shared ideology” after meeting online. As well as arguments, jokes and everyday concerns, they also shared extremist views and videos.
El-hassan, a divorced mother of two, was fully aware of Mohammed’s intentions and advised him which chemicals to buy for a bomb, the court heard.
In the days before his arrest, Mohammed was captured on shop CCTV buying “acetone-free” nail polish from Asda, in the mistaken belief it was a chemical component of TATP, a homemade explosive also known as “Mother of Satan”. He also looked at pressure cookers, which the prosecution said could be used to contain the explosives.
When police raided his home, they found hydrogen peroxide in a wardrobe and hydrochloric acid in the freezer.
Mohammed, of Derby, and El-hassan, of north-west London, had denied preparing terrorist acts between November 2015 and December 2016.
After the verdicts, Judge Michael Topolski QC said Mohammed had been planning a “potentially devastating terrorist attack by creating an explosive device and deploying it somewhere in the UK, targeting those you regarded as enemies of the Islamic State”.
He added: “Rowaida El-hassan, you share the extremist mindset with Munir Mohammed and you were ideologically motivated to provide him with support, motivation and assistance.
“You knew he was engaging and planning an attack. You knew he was planning an explosion to kill and maim innocent people in the cause of Islamic State.”
The pair were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Feb 22.