London – Life In Prison For Transatlantic Bomb Trio

London – Three British Muslim extremists who plotted to detonate bombs concealed in soft drinks on passenger jets above the Atlantic have been sentenced to life in prison.

Ringleader Abdullah Ahmed Ali was told he would spend at least the next 40 years in jail; meaning he will not be eligible for parole until he is 68.

His quartermaster Assad Sarwar was jailed for a life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years, while second-in-command Tanvir Hussain was told he would spend the next 32 years behind bars.

Prior to sentencing at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Henriques said the terrorist plot they were convicted over was among the worst ever encountered.

“The plot to murder passengers and crew was the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven within this jurisdiction,” he said.

“The intention was to perpetrate a terrorist atrocity that would stand alongside September 11th in world history.

“I am satisfied that there was every likelihood this would have succeeded, but for intervention of police and security services.”

Ali, Sarwar and Hussain were convicted last week of conspiring to detonate bombs disguised as soft drinks midair.

The death-toll from the attack upon seven separate transatlantic flights in the summer of 2006 could have been higher than the near-3,000 who died in the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks.

Since Ali, 28, from Walthamstow; Sarwar, 29, from High Wycombe; and Hussain, 28, from Leyton, were sentenced it has emerged the former two had strong links to al-Qaida cells in Pakistan.

A host of materials has been released by Scotland Yard since the convictions, including coded emails sent between the would-be bombers and Pakistan.

Many of the back-and-forth emails were sent with the subject line “How are you babes” in order to avoid detection by the security services.

It is understood that the man referred to as “Paps” or “Papa” in the exchanges is British-Pakistani terror suspect Rashid Rauf. The suspected terrorist was arrested in Pakistan the day before Scotland Yard swooped on the men convicted yesterday at Woolwich crown court.

He later escaped from Pakistan custody but it believed to have died in a US air-strike in 2008.

According to reports, it was on American insistence – the US having been informed of the potential plot by British intelligence services – that Rauf was arrested, forcing Scotland Yard’s hand.

The claims have been denied on both sides of the Atlantic.

The uncovering of the plot and the arrests of Rauf, Ali, Sarwar and Hussain led to severe disruption at UK airports and the introduction of stringent new security measures, many of which are still in place.