UK suspect 'key al-Qaeda member'

A British Muslim man was an important member of al-Qaeda with a terrorist contacts book that had sections written in invisible ink, a court has heard.

Raingzieb Ahmed, 33, of Manchester, denies directing terrorism and being a member of al-Qaeda.
The prosecution at Manchester Crown Court alleged he was assisted by Habid Ahmed, 28, a city taxi driver.
It is alleged Habib Ahmed, who denies all charges, travelled to Pakistan to receive terrorist training.

The trip is also said to have included explosives training.
And the prosecution claim that Habib Ahmed's wife, Mehreen Haji, 27, sent £4,000 to fund his training.
She is accused of two counts of arranging funding for the purposes of terrorism.

All three deny the charges against them. The trial is expected to last for three months.
Earlier the court heard how Mr Ahmed and Ms Haji were married by the radical cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, whose organisation al-Muhajiroun was "designed to propagate radical views of Islam in this country".
The court heard how a document was found at the couple's home that justified suicide bombings.
The trial continues.

Did these muslims attend a mosque? Were their activities known to other Muslims in the UK? Does anyone know? Does anyone care? Has anyone considered the implications of the fact that no Muslim group turned them in?

Terror mission 'aborted' by death

A British Muslim directing a foreign terror mission aborted his plans when his boss, the suspected number three of al-Qaeda, was killed, a court heard.

The prosecution at Manchester Crown Court said Rangzieb Ahmed, 33, was part of a three-man active service cell planning a "major activity".
Mr Ahmed, of Fallowfield, Manchester, denies directing terrorism and being a member of al-Qaeda.

He is the first person to be brought to trial in the UK for such an offence.

Prosecuting counsel Andrew Edis QC said the phone number of Hamza Rabia, a leading al-Qaeda member was later found on a note written in invisible ink at the home of Rangzieb Ahmed's associate, Habib Ahmed, in Manchester.
The organisation is not going to trust a minion with this exercise. They are going to be trusted, trained members of an organisation who have been given a degree of responsibility Andrew Edis QC

Rangzieb Ahmed, who is not related to Habib Ahmed, was said to be involved in the mission in 2005 and 2006 with a man named as Mohammed Zillur Rahman and another man called Imran.
Mr Edis said Rangzieb Ahmed was in Dubai when his superior died on 1 December 2005.
Mr Ahmed and his two associates were due to fly on to South Africa as part of a "major activity", after having flown from Pakistan to Dubai via China, the court heard.
He said: "It was clear that he was on a foreign mission and a foreign mission for a terror organisation of this kind is a major activity.

"The organisation is not going to trust a minion with this exercise. They are going to be trusted, trained members of an organisation who have been given a degree of responsibility.
"Things went wrong in South Africa. Rangzieb Ahmed changed his plan and never went to South Africa.
"In order to change his plan he needed help and the person who helped him was Habib Ahmed."
Ministers address

Habib Ahmed, who denies all charges against him, is accused of travelling to Pakistan to receive terrorist training.
This trip is also said to have included explosives training.
The jury of seven women and five men also heard that a computer recovered from Habib Ahmed's property in the Cheetham Hill area showed evidence of a Google search for "where Geoff Hoon lives".

Mr Edis said there may have been several reasons why the 28-year-old would want to contact the then secretary of state for defence.
It would be quite spectacular to do something at his home," he said.
Website searches for the details and addresses of British Army bases and training offices, US military bases in the UK and the chain of command for the Metropolitan Police's counter-terror unit were also discovered on his computer.

When Rangzieb Ahmed returned to the UK at the end of 2005, he had a rucksack which is alleged to have contained traces of explosives.
The court heard it was recovered from a rubbish bin near his brother-in-law's house where he had disposed of it, along with items associated to him.
Rangzieb Ahmed has admitted membership of a proscribed terror organisation called Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, but denies possession of a rucksack which had traces of explosives.
The prosecution also claims Habib Ahmed's wife, Mehreen Haji, 27, sent £4,000 to fund his training.

She is accused of two counts of arranging funding for the purposes of terrorism.

The trial continues.