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Couple sentenced to imprisonment for plotting attacks in London

Xinhua, December 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan have been sentenced to jail for life after being convicted of preparing terrorist acts in London, British media report Wednesday.

Rehman was told he must been jailed for a minimum of 27 years, and his wife Khan was given at least 25 years, according to BBC report.

They were sentenced after an Old Bailey jury unanimously found them guilty of preparing an act of terrorism in May this year.

Under the username "Silent Bomber", Rehman, 25, asked his followers on Twitter for suggestions on which target, Westfield shopping center or the London Underground, was suitable for a massive terror attack.

In one tweet, on May 12, 2015, he wrote: "Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly."

Chemicals for making bomb were found at his home. Jurors at the Old Bailey watched a video reportedly showing Rehman experimenting with home-made explosives in his back garden.

Khan, 24, was convicted of helping Rehman plan the attack and paying for chemicals purchased online.

The text messages between them showed their discussions about buying chemicals. Rehman had sent Islamic State-related video clips to Khan by emails.

Susan Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, said: "The pair had been very close to carrying out an attack, all they required was to purchase the chemicals to make a detonator."

"There is little doubt that, had Rehman and Ahmed Khan not been stopped when they were, they would have attempted to carry out an act of terrorism in London," she added.

Assistant Chief Constable Laura Nicholson, head of the South East Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "These were dangerous individuals who represented a genuine threat, but through counter-terrorism policing we were able to intercept them before they could carry out their plans."

She said: "It is clear that Rehman and Khan shared a radical and violent extremist ideology. They actively accessed extremist material on the internet and used social media to develop and share their views as they prepared acts of terrorism." Endit