Would-be bombers jailed

THREE Britons recruited as suicide bombers in an al-Qaida-inspired plot to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-air using liquid explosives have been jailed for at least 20 years yesterday.

The plot’s ringleaders hoped to evade airport security by smuggling homemade bombs onto US-bound flights using liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks.

The would-be attackers filmed videos intended to be released to the media after their deaths threatening attacks against “the enemies of Islam”.

Ibrahim Savant, 29, Arafat Waheed Khan, 29, and Waheed Zaman, 26, all from London, had denied conspiracy to murder and said their videos were part of a documentary.

“Death and destruction will pass upon you like a tornado,” Zaman said in one video played to the court.

“As you kill us, you will be killed. And as you bomb us, you will be bombed.”

Judge Timothy Holroyde said the men were “foot soldiers” unaware of their intended targets.

However, he said all three intended to kill “an uncertain but potentially large number of innocent men, women and children.”