Two Birmingham men guilty of terror charges

Two men from Birmingham have pleaded guilty to being part of a terrorist cell whose leaders were planning a suicide bomb attack in the UK.

Bahader Ali and Mohammed Rizwan admitted engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism.

In February, Ali's brother, Ashik Ali and two other men, Irfan Naseer and Irfan Khalid, were found guilty of planning to be suicide bombers.

Six other men have admitted terrorism charges.

All are due to be sentenced later this month.

Mohammed Rizwan, 29, and Bahader Ali, 34, are from the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham.

During February's trial, jurors heard the men planned to rival the 7 July and 9/11 atrocities and set off up to eight bombs in rucksacks, using timers to detonate the charges.

Police described them as "committed, passionate extremists".

They were arrested in 2011 amid fears an attack was imminent.

Detectives believe it was the most significant terror plot to be uncovered since the 2006 conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners using bombs disguised as soft drinks.

Khalid even boasted that the attack was "another 9/11" and "revenge for everything".

Six other men have also pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism: Ishaaq Hussain, 21, Shahid Khan, 21, Naweed Ali, 25, and Khobaib Hussain, 22, Rahin Ahmed, 27, and Mujahid Hussain, 21.

Counter-terrorism officers in the West Midlands and MI5 ran one of the largest undercover operations in recent years to identity the plotters and stop them.

The jury heard that the security services had the men under such close surveillance that they recorded them laughing and joking about their plans and how they did not need to worry about their car's MOT, because they would be dead by the time it expired.

The men were arrested after recorded conversations revealed Naseer's depth of knowledge about bomb-making and the three discussed time frames for attacking targets.

They had discussed targets while under surveillance but had not settled on a final plan. During his police interview, Ali told detectives that they wanted to wear explosive vests and had considered attacking British soldiers.

The trial heard the men were inspired by sermons of US-born Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in Yemen in September 2011.