A British terrorism suspect with links an alleged Canadian cell was convicted Monday of being a walking terrorist library.
Aabid Khan – also known as "Abu Omar" and "Ocean Blue" – and two co-accused, aged 18 and 23, were convicted by a British jury for possessing a plethora of terrorist how-to manuals, such as The Mujahedeen Explosives Handbook.
Mr. Khan, 23, was arrested at Manchester airport two years ago after returning to Britain from foreign travels. He visited Canada in March, 2005, and is related by marriage to the alleged ringleader of a supposed Toronto terrorist conspiracy.
On June 2, 2006, Canadian police arrested 18 young suspects in sweeps around Toronto related to the alleged conspiracy.
Aabid Khan (West Yorkshire Police)
Videos
Home video of Khan with a group
A video exhibit from the trial of Aabid Khan, found guilty Monday by a British jury of possessing terrorist how-to manuals
Photogallery
While several charges have been dropped and only 11 accused remain before the courts, the reputed core conspirators are said to have been plotting simultaneous truck bombings in downtown Toronto.
While members of the Toronto group are alleged to have been caught with documents similar to those Mr. Khan had, Canada does not criminalize the mere possession of terrorist literature.
British law does. While Mr. Khan was not accused of being part of any active plot, he was arrested four days after the Toronto roundups. Scotland Yard said he was caught carrying several terror manuals regarding armed jihad, bomb-building and poison manufacture, some of which were sewn into his jacket lining and stored on memory sticks.
The Bradford, England, resident was arrested on June 6, 2006, flying into the country from Pakistan. Scotland Yard accused him of being a recruiter who had links to training camps run by two banned groups, Jaishe Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
Mr. Khan is further said to have known the convicted Internet propagandist Younis Tsouili, otherwise known as "Terrorist 007," who was convicted of terrorism offences last year.
During Mr. Khan's trial, a British jury heard that a letter from his Canadian wife turned up in searches of his home. She allegedly discussed killing herself to facilitate a jailbreak for Muslim prisoners.
West Yorkshire Police say they will not release the letter, but the BBC has reported on its contents.
"The more I think about my goal in life the more vivid my goals become," the Canadian woman's letter said. "Whether it is exploding prisons or freeing them somehow I know I have to play a role in it. ... Let it be a martyrdom operation."
However, Mr. Khan played down the message of the letter when he was on the stand, saying his wife was "upset" and wrote it out of "desperation."
One alleged young offender in the Toronto plot is currently on trial, while a series of pretrial motions are delaying the case of the 10 adult suspects.
The Toronto-area court has heard testimony from a police agent that certain suspects discussed going into hiding with an "Abu Omar" to escape any police roundup.
