Eight face terror charges
Eight men arrested in anti-terror raids have been charged with conspiring to commit murder and launch radioactive or chemical attacks.
One of them was also charged with having plans which could have been used as the basis for a terror attack on the New York Stock Exchange, the IMF in Washington and Citigroup in New York.
The men were among 13 arrested on August 3 in a series of raids by the Anti-Terrorist Branch and MI5 in London, Bushey in Hertfordshire, Luton in Bedfordshire, and Blackburn in Lancashire.
They were charged today at the high security Paddington Green police station in London.
The eight men were Dhiren Barot, 32, of Willesden, London, Omar Abdur Rehman, 20, of Bushey, Hertfordshire, Mohammed Ul Haq, 25, of Paddington, London, Abdul Aziz Jalil, 31, of Luton, Bedfordshire, Nadeem Tarmohamed, 26, of Willesden, London, Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, 24, of Harrow, Middlesex, Quaisar Shaffi, 25, of Willesden, London, and Junade Feroze, of Blackburn, Lancashire.
They are all charged with conspiring to murder "other persons" between January 2000 and August 4 this year.
A second charge alleges that between the same dates they plotted to use "radioactive materials, toxic gases, chemicals and explosives".
Both charges were made under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Barot and Tarmohammed were also charged under the Terrorism Act in connection with an alleged plot to target financial institutions in the United States.
They are alleged to have been in possession of a "reconnaissance plan" of the Prudential Building in New Jersey which, according to the charge, was "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".
Barot was further charged with having "reconnaissance plans" for the Stock Exchange and Citigroup in New York and the IMF in Washington.
Shaffi was also charged under the Terrorism Act with possessing an extract from the Terrorist's Handbook which contained information on preparing chemicals and explosives.
All eight will appear in custody at Bow Street Magistrates' Court, sitting at Belmarsh tomorrow.
A ninth man, Matthew Philip Monks, 32, of Sudbury, London, who was questioned with them at Paddington Green was charged with possessing a banned weapon.
