Post date: May 01, 2013 6:55:46 PM
Six men plead guilty after a failed plot to attack a rally held by the right-wing group the English Defence League.
DEWSBURY, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 30, 2012) (ITN) - Six men pleaded guilty on Tuesday (April 30) to plotting to target a rally held by the anti-Islamist English Defence League (EDL) using guns, knives and a homemade explosive device in an attack they botched by turning up too late.
Five members of the group had planned to attack the right-wing group's march though Dewsbury in northern England last June. But by the time they arrived, the 450 EDL demonstrators had dispersed.After failing in their plans, the men were returning to their homes in Birminghamwhen one of their cars was stopped on a motorway by traffic police concerned at the state of the vehicle.
Officers found it had no insurance and the car was impounded. Two days later, a search of the boot uncovered two sawn-off shotguns, kitchen knives, machetes, a partially constructed pipe bomb and an improvised explosive device made from a modified firework with added nails and ball bearings..
Counter-terrorism officers and MI5 said they were aware of two of the men, but police said there had been no intelligence to suggest they were planning an imminent attack on the EDL.
Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale from West Midlands Police said many people were at risk of very serious injury or even loss of life had the attack been carried out.
"These men were very dangerous, very capable, and whilst they made some errors, they could have gone on to cause substantial harm and misery, as we've seen inBoston only too recently and tragically," he said.
Jewel Uddin, Mohammed Saud, Anzal Hussain, Mohammed Hasseen, Omar Khanand Zohaib Ahmed, all aged in their 20s, pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism at Woolwich Crown Court.
Hasseen, who had not travelled to the rally, also admitted possessing documents likely to be of use to a person preparing an act of terrorism. They will be sentenced in June and the judge told them they faced significant jail terms.
The EDL has staged many marches and rallies across England, usually attended by several hundred supporters, and there have been occasional violent clashes with opponents, often members of the local Muslim community.