July 21st bombers each sentenced to minimum of 40 years in prison

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July 21 Al Qaeda bombers sentenced to life

By Richard Holt
11/07/2007


The terrorists each tried to commit mass murder in London, two weeks exactly after 52 innocent people were killed in the 7/7 bombings



All four July 21 bombers have been given life sentences for conspiracy to commit murder and have been told they will serve a MINIMUM of 40 years.

Muktar Said Ibrahim, the leader of the group, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman, who attempted to detonate homemade bombs on the London transport network on July 21, 2005, were convicted following a six-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Muktar Said Ibrahim was the 'emir', or leader, of the group

The judge said that both the July 7 and the failed July 21 bombers were terror cells operating under the control of al-Qa'eda.

Mr Justice Fulford added: "What happened on July 7 in 2005 is of considerable relevance to this sentencing.

"I have no doubt that they were both part of an al-Qa'eda-inspired and controlled sequence of attacks."

The court had heard how it was mere "good fortune" the devices packed with shrapnel did not detonate, potentially killing dozens of commuters and the bombers themselves.

The men all denied the charges, claiming the devices were not intended to go off and were meant as a protest against the Iraq war.

The court had heard how the gang used explosives made of hydrogen peroxide and chapatti flour in an attempt to kill innocent people on three London buses and a Tube train.

Omar's one-bedroom flat in New Southgate, north London, was used as a bomb factory.

The failed attack came exactly two weeks after the July 7 attacks on London, which left 56 people dead (including the four bombers).

But the prosecution said during the trial that the second attack was a long time in the planning and was not a copy-cat attack.

Ibrahim visited Pakistan at the same time as two of the July 7 bombers, allegedly learning from Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shezhad Tanweer how to make homemade bombs.

The court heard how the British authorities had only ever come across improvised explosive devices made from hydrogen peroxide and organic substances on two occasions: July 7 and July 21.

telegraph.co.uk
 
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