7/7 bomb team posed as A-Team characters

TWO of the 7/7 bombers posed as characters from the A-Team in joke text messages on the eve of their suicide attacks, it was revealed yesterday.

In bizarre exchanges, Mohammed Sidique Khan and Jermaine Lindsay pretended to be Face and BA Baracus, two of the US commandos-turned-soldiers of fortune featured in the cult 1980s TV drama, which was turned into a Hollywood movie this year.

Using the “operational” mobile phones they bought specially to plan the atrocities, they also referred to A-Team character Murdock and repeatedly quoted BA Baracus’s catchphrase, “I ain’t getting on no plane”.

There is no suggestion that the plotters were intending to target aircraft, and this could be a reference to the final preparations for the July 7, 2005, attacks on London’s transport network.

The inquests into the deaths of the 52 innocent victims of the attacks have heard that the bombers laughed and shared jokes as they travelled to the capital on their deadly mission.

At 2.23pm on July 4 plot ringleader Khan texted Lindsay to say: “Face you mutha fucker il rearange ya face if ya stab me wiv dat needle cos i said i aint getting on no plain fool [sic].”

This is a reference to the fact that BA Baracus was afraid of flying and the other members of The A-Team regularly had to inject him with drugs to get him on board an aircraft.

Lindsay took offence at Khan’s message because he felt the part of BA was his.

He replied at 2.32pm: “Fuck u bitch, dats my line, il stab u wid a fucking needle jus 4 da fun of it. And 2hear u scream like a blatch!!! Now lets get dis right. I aint getting on no plain! fool!”

Just before 1am on July 6, the day before the bombings, Khan sent Lindsay the text message: “Yo BA big nackers you on dat plane or wat. fool.”

At 1.55am, Lindsay replied: “I ain’t getting on no plane fool”.

Lindsay sent Khan another message at 5.15am that read: “I aint getting on no plane! Murdock tel dis fool.”

Police recovered the texts from Lindsay’s phone, which was found in the wreckage of the bombing between King’s Cross and Russell Square train stations.

The messages were shown to the inquests on Friday but the coroner banned publication of them until Sunday evening.

The 7/7 inquests have heard that the bombers may have originally planned to carry out the attacks 24 hours earlier, when the capital was due to learn whether it had won the 2012 Olympic Games.

Khan visited Dewsbury Hospital in West Yorkshire with his wife, Hasina Patel, on July 5 because of complications with her pregnancy.

He apparently postponed the atrocities just two-and-a-half hours after the exchange of messages.