N.O.R.F Posted January 29, 2008 Man admits plot to behead soldier A 37-year-old Birmingham man has pleaded guilty to plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier. Parviz Khan, an unemployed charity worker, intended to seize and behead the unnamed Muslim serviceman "like a pig", Leicester Crown Court was told. Three other men, Basiru Gassama, 30, Mohammed Irfan, 31, and Hamid Elasmar, 44, have admitted other offences connected with Khan's plot. The court heard Amjad Mahmood, 32, and Zahoor Iqbal, 30, denied involvement. He would be taken to a lock-up garage and there he would be murdered by having his head cut off like a pig Nigel Rumfitt QC The jury was told how Khan, of Alum Rock, intended to kidnap the soldier while on a night out, behead him in a lock-up garage and then release footage of the killing on the internet. Nigel Rumfitt QC, prosecuting Mr Mahmood and Mr Iqbal, who both deny two offences relating to the plot, told the court that Khan had planned to seize the serviceman in Birmingham's Broad Street entertainment quarter. "He would be taken to a lock-up garage and there he would be murdered by having his head cut off like a pig," he said. "This atrocity would be filmed... and the film released to cause panic and fear within the British armed forces and the wider public." Terrorist equipment Khan, who also admits intending to supply equipment to terrorists on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, pleaded guilty to the plot earlier this month, but his plea can only now be reported as the trial of Mr Mahmood and Mr Iqbal has begun. Mr Mahmood denies knowing about Khan's plot and failing to disclose information about it, while Mr Iqbal denies possessing a computer disc called Encyclopaedia Jihad, which would be likely to be useful to a terrorist. Both men have also pleaded not guilty to helping Khan supply equipment to terrorists in Pakistan. Irfan and Elasmar have pleaded guilty to helping Khan supply the equipment, while Gassama has admitted knowing about the plot and not telling anyone about it. The men were arrested in a series of high-profile raids in Birmingham at the end of January last year after an investigation led by West Midlands Police Counter-Terrorism Unit. Khan was later charged with plotting to kidnap and kill a member of the British armed forces between 2 April 2006 and 1 February 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7215081.stm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
