2007 Plot to behead a British Muslim soldier
Encyclopedia
The 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier was undertaken by a group of British Pakistanis in Birmingham
, England
planning to kidnap and behead a British
Muslim
soldier in order to undermine the morale of the British Army
and inhibit recruitment of Muslims. The leader, Parviz Khan, admitted the plot and was sentenced to life imprisonment
, to serve at least 14 years. One associate was found guilty of failing to report the plot and four associates were sentenced to up to seven years for supplying equipment to Pakistan-based militants fighting the International Security Assistance Force
in Afghanistan
.
, Birmingham, believed to be owned by the wife of suspect Zahoor Iqbal or a safehouse in Tipton
, nine miles from Birmingham. There, he would be blindfolded, handcuffed, made to demand the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and then he would be killed. A video of this would be released on the Internet. On a password-protected Internet forum affiliated with Al-Qaeda
, the plotters were told: "It is preferable if you photograph or video the operation so that it can have a bigger set of viewers and can be used by the media."
The newspaper reports also said that the group spent months compiling a hit list of 25 potential targets.
Four people from the group were also accused of supplying equipment on four occasions to Pakistan-based militants fighting the International Security Assistance Force
in Afghanistan. They had used the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
as a cover to ship anglers'
gloves used by snipers, sleeping bags, boots, waterproof map holders, laser rangefinders, anti-bugging equipment, video cameras and mobile phones.
On January 31, 2007, just before 4:00 am, more than 700 police officers raided eight homes and four businesses, including a corner store, two Islamic bookstores and an internet cafe. Eight men were arrested then, with a ninth arrested later in the afternoon while driving into Birmingham.
failed to discover the source of these leaks. The civil liberties organisation Liberty
said these leaks risked "undermining the work of police and prosecutors and jeopardising the trust and safety of the public".
for Muslims, the anti-terrorism laws had been designed specifically for Muslims and that this was an "open fact". After the trial, the Assistant Chief Constable
of West Midlands Police
said that "Responsible people in our communities need to reflect on what they said before in light of what this case has shown."
Gassama was born in Mansaringsu, Brikama
, Gambia. He attended madrasah
s in Gambia and Senegal
, and continued his education in Saudi Arabia
. He then moved to the UK
and acquired citizenship. He is married to the daughter of a former Gambian Foreign Affairs minister whose name was withheld from the press. His brother was arrested in March 2006 in Banjul
, Gambia as a suspect in a plot to overthrow Gambian president Yahya Jammeh
. He lived in Hodge Hill
, Birmingham at the time of his arrest and worked at Khan's General Store.
Iqbal was a 29-year-old teacher who lives in Kingstanding
, north Birmingham. He taught Information Technology
part-time at Saltley School, a specialist science college. He attended the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith centre in Small Heath
, which was also investigated in the documentary Undercover Mosque
.
Abu Bakr is a 29-year-old who works at the Maktabah al-Ansar book store, of which he is a part-owner.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
planning to kidnap and behead a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
soldier in order to undermine the morale of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and inhibit recruitment of Muslims. The leader, Parviz Khan, admitted the plot and was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, to serve at least 14 years. One associate was found guilty of failing to report the plot and four associates were sentenced to up to seven years for supplying equipment to Pakistan-based militants fighting the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
The plot
Shortly after the arrests, reports appeared in a number of newspapers with details of the plot, citing unnamed security sources. According to the newspaper reports, the plot involved kidnapping a British Muslim soldier and taking him either to a run-down house in Leatherhead Close, AstonAston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham, believed to be owned by the wife of suspect Zahoor Iqbal or a safehouse in Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
, nine miles from Birmingham. There, he would be blindfolded, handcuffed, made to demand the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and then he would be killed. A video of this would be released on the Internet. On a password-protected Internet forum affiliated with Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, the plotters were told: "It is preferable if you photograph or video the operation so that it can have a bigger set of viewers and can be used by the media."
The newspaper reports also said that the group spent months compiling a hit list of 25 potential targets.
Four people from the group were also accused of supplying equipment on four occasions to Pakistan-based militants fighting the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
in Afghanistan. They had used the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
as a cover to ship anglers'
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
gloves used by snipers, sleeping bags, boots, waterproof map holders, laser rangefinders, anti-bugging equipment, video cameras and mobile phones.
The arrests
For six months, British police forces and intelligence agencies, under the codename Operation Gamble, had been investigating the plot. They had hoped to investigate for another two months before making arrests, but when one of the suspects purchased a video camera it was feared that this was done in preparation for the kidnapping, so the police brought forward their decision to make the arrests.On January 31, 2007, just before 4:00 am, more than 700 police officers raided eight homes and four businesses, including a corner store, two Islamic bookstores and an internet cafe. Eight men were arrested then, with a ninth arrested later in the afternoon while driving into Birmingham.
Leaks
The sentencing judge described the leaking of information to the media at the time of the arrests as being a "very grave contempt of court". An inquiry by the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
failed to discover the source of these leaks. The civil liberties organisation Liberty
Liberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
said these leaks risked "undermining the work of police and prosecutors and jeopardising the trust and safety of the public".
Criticism
One of the people who was initially arrested and then released without charge, said Britain had become a police statePolice state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
for Muslims, the anti-terrorism laws had been designed specifically for Muslims and that this was an "open fact". After the trial, the Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
of West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
said that "Responsible people in our communities need to reflect on what they said before in light of what this case has shown."
Outcome
In February 2008, five men were sentenced after admitting or being found guilty of these allegations.| Name | Charge/Suspicion | Outcome | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pervaiz Khan | conspiracy to kidnap and murder supplying terrorists |
Admitted | Life, serving a minimum of 14 years |
| Basiru Gassama | failing to report the conspiracy | Admitted | 2 years followed by deportation |
| Amjad Mahmood | failing to report the conspiracy | Cleared | null |
| Zahoor Iqbal | supplying terrorists | Admitted | 7 years |
| Mohammed Irfan | supplying terrorists | Admitted | 4 years |
| Hamid Elasmar | supplying terrorists | Found guilty | 3 years 4 months |
| Abu Bakr | conspiracy to kidnap and murder | Released without charge | null |
| Azzar Iqbal | conspiracy to kidnap and murder | Released without charge | null |
| An unnamed third man | conspiracy to kidnap and murder | Released without charge | n/a |
Gassama was born in Mansaringsu, Brikama
Brikama
Brikama is one of the largest cities in The Gambia, lying south of Banjul in the Western Division. It is known for wood carving and for its musicians...
, Gambia. He attended madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
s in Gambia and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, and continued his education in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. He then moved to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and acquired citizenship. He is married to the daughter of a former Gambian Foreign Affairs minister whose name was withheld from the press. His brother was arrested in March 2006 in Banjul
Banjul
-Transport:Ferries sail from Banjul to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.Banjul International Airport...
, Gambia as a suspect in a plot to overthrow Gambian president Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Jammeh
Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is the President of The Gambia...
. He lived in Hodge Hill
Hodge Hill
Hodge Hill is an area seven km east of Birmingham city centre, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee....
, Birmingham at the time of his arrest and worked at Khan's General Store.
Iqbal was a 29-year-old teacher who lives in Kingstanding
Kingstanding
Kingstanding is an area in north Birmingham, England. It gives its name to a ward in the Erdington council constituency. Kingstanding ward includes the areas; Perry Common, St. Mary's College, Witton Lakes and parts of Kingstanding, Wyrley Birch and New Oscott...
, north Birmingham. He taught Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
part-time at Saltley School, a specialist science college. He attended the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith centre in Small Heath
Small Heath, Birmingham
Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on and around the A45 ....
, which was also investigated in the documentary Undercover Mosque
Undercover Mosque
Undercover Mosque is a documentary programme produced by the independent television company hardcash productions for the Channel 4 series Dispatches which first aired on 15 January 2007 in the UK. The film caused a furore in Britain and the world press due to the content of the released footage...
.
Abu Bakr is a 29-year-old who works at the Maktabah al-Ansar book store, of which he is a part-owner.
See also
- 2007 UK terrorist incidents2007 UK terrorist incidentsTwo major terrorist incidents took place in 2007, in the UK, with significant national and international repercussions.-London:On 29 June 2007, two unexploded car bombs were discovered in London. The first device was found in a car parked near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket and two large...
- List of terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom