THE three men accused of plotting a major terror attack in the UK believed al-Qaeda wanted to spread jihad across Europe, a court has heard.
They allegedly searched YouTube for “the devil’s deception of the fake jihadis”, and “Taliban fighting videos”, and on FoxNews they looked for the phrase “homemade bomb found in women’s restroom in Detroit”, in preparation for an atrocity they hoped would eclipse the London bombings of 7/7.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, both 27, are part of a group of 11 men accused of being behind the plot.
Prosecutor Brian Altman said Khalid was also recorded talking about wanting to see “AQ” in Europe, in a reference to al-Qaeda, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
In the recording, Naseer said: “AQ’s main aim is … the knowledge that they give us; we want more and more people have stance in Europe so they can start whacking you there, yeah, do you understand?”
The men also joked about their last meal before their planned attacks and finding a second wife in paradise, the court heard.
The three men are accused of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, which they deny.
The examination of a laptop they had used also revealed they searched Google for the term “muhammed siddique khan as sahab”, who was one of the London bombers.
In a taped conversation read out during their trial, Naseer is then heard discussing the bombings and agreeing with another man that it had gone “a bit wrong” and that not enough damage had been done.
“You know what? They forgot to put the … they didn’t put the nails and stuff in, man,” Naseer said.
Naseer is accused of five counts of the offence, Khalid four and Ali three, all between Christmas Day 2010 and 19 September last year.
For Naseer, from Sparkhill, Khalid, from Sparkbrook, and Ali, from Balsall Heath, all in Birmingham, this is alleged to have included planning a bombing campaign, collecting money for terrorism and recruiting others for terrorism.
Naseer and Khalid are also accused of travelling to Pakistan for training in terrorism, and it is alleged that Naseer also helped others to travel to the country for the same purpose.
In another taped conversation, it was revealed the men had suspicions that they were under police surveillance.
“Naseer had a feeling, correctly as it turned out, that ‘they were gonna do something here soon...’ In other words, there might be a police raid,” Mr Altman said.
They then discussed always having someone inside the flat so that bugs could not be planted. Or if they had to leave, going out via a window to create the illusion that someone was still in, or by installing a spy camera to cover the front of the house, the court heard.
The three men were arrested on the night of September 18 while coming out of a car.
Ali, who was in the rear of the car, was recorded saying: “I am not a terrorist. I am a civilian. Just because I have a beard does not make me a terrorist.”
Once arrested, a police search found in Naseer’s bedroom, a black flag bearing the words in Arabic: “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah.”
“This is the first of the five pillars of Islam. The colour and style of the flag represent the jihad and the caliphate, the era of Islamic ascendancy following the death of the prophet,” Mr Altman said.
The trial continues.