London Jury Convicts Three In Airline "Bottle Bombing" Scheme

September 7, 2009 11:59 a.m. EST

London (AHN) - Three men dubbed the "bottle bombers" were convicted Monday of attempting to blow up trans-Atlantic airline flights with explosives smuggled aboard in soft drink containers.

It was the second trial for Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, who were found guilty in an 11-1 verdict.

Ali, 28, had been named by prosecutors as the leader of the group, which included five other men. He was retried after a jury convicted him of conspiracy to cause explosions in September 2008, but failed to reach verdicts on the airline plot.

The aborted scheme in August 2006 resulted in the implementation of restrictions on carrying liquids and creams about airliners.

The jury failed to reach a decision on murder conspiracy charges against Arafat Khan, Ibrahim Savant and Waheed Zaman. The three men were found not guilty of conspiracy to blow up aircraft.

Another defendant, Donald Stewart Whyte, was cleared of all charges, although he had earlier pleaded guilty to a firearms offense.

Umar Islam was convicted of a general charge of conspiracy to murder. The jury could not determine if Islam was aware of the specific targets in the plot.