Alleged 2007 bomb plot in Copenhagen
Encyclopedia
On September 4, 2007 eight people suspected of planning a terror attack were arrested by armed Danish
police officers and Security Intelligence Service
agents in several coordinated actions throughout the greater Copenhagen
area.
Police, accompanied by bomb experts, searched 11 homes and detained the eight men, who are described as militant
islamists with direct connections to international groups such as Al-Qaeda
. Information about possible targets has been withheld due to the on-going nature of the investigation.
, Pakistan
i, Somali
and Turkish
origin. Six are reportedly Danish citizens. According to the BBC, six of the eight were released after questioning. Two suspects (see below) have been remanded in custody for 27 days. Their names were not released to the public.
The locations of the arrests are below. At Glasvej in the northwest of Copenhagen:
At Landlysstien in Ishøj
:
In Hvidovre
, at Bymuren and Rebslagerporten in Avedøre
:
The location of where the two last arrested is not known at the time:
After the arrests it was announced that Matas
, Denmark largest drug store chain, is co-operating with domestic Security Intelligence Service to keep tabs on the sale of substances that can be used to make bombs for terrorist attacks. Common household items such as acetone
, saltpetre
and hydrogen peroxide
can - when mixed with other substances - be used to create an explosive cocktail. Sales of more than two containers of the substances on a list compiled to any one customer is registered by the shop's employees on a special form. The information is then passed on to the police. Matas has instituted the new rules at all its 292 shops across the country.
, the busiest train station in Denmark that serves 300,000 people a day.
The terrorist attack was possibly a response to the Danish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
and the 2005-2006 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
.
, a suburb of Copenhagen
, convicted Hammad Khuershid, a Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and Abdoulghani Tokhi, an Afghan, and sentenced them to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively. The court said during sentencing that Abdoulghani Tokhi, who has a Danish residence permit, would be expelled after serving his sentence.
During the trial, prosecutors said Hammad Khuershid had links to Al Qaeda. Handwritten bomb-making manuals written by Hammad Khuershid at the pro-Taliban Lal Mosque in Islamabad
were found during the police search in his home in Denmark. Hammad Khuershid admitted he was in Waziristan region, but denies receiving any military training. Hammad Khuershid and Abdoulghani Tokhi pleaded innocent saying that the explosives were to be used for fireworks.
The prosecutors said it was not clear whether Hammad Khuershid and Abdoulghani Tokhi were preparing an attack in Denmark or abroad.
On Friday June 26, 2009, the Oestre Landsret upheld the convictions of both Hammad Khuershid and Abdolghani Tohki.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
police officers and Security Intelligence Service
Politiets Efterretningstjeneste
Politiets Efterretningstjeneste is the national security intelligence agency of Denmark...
agents in several coordinated actions throughout the greater Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
area.
Police, accompanied by bomb experts, searched 11 homes and detained the eight men, who are described as militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
islamists with direct connections to international groups such as Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Information about possible targets has been withheld due to the on-going nature of the investigation.
Suspects
The eight suspects, between 19 and 29 years old, were of AfghanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i, Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
and Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
origin. Six are reportedly Danish citizens. According to the BBC, six of the eight were released after questioning. Two suspects (see below) have been remanded in custody for 27 days. Their names were not released to the public.
The locations of the arrests are below. At Glasvej in the northwest of Copenhagen:
- Hammad Khuershid: A man aged 21, of Pakistani ethnicity. Originally remanded in custody for 27 days.
- XK: A man aged between 24 and 25, of Pakistani ethnicity.
At Landlysstien in Ishøj
Ishøj
Ishøj Municipality is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers 26 km², with a total population of 20,687 , many of whom are Pakistani, African, Arab, or Turkish immigrants...
:
- XA: A man aged 19, of Turkish ethnicity.
In Hvidovre
Hvidovre
Hvidovre Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden near Copenhagen on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 22 km², and has a total population of 49,380...
, at Bymuren and Rebslagerporten in Avedøre
Avedøre
Avedøre is a south-western suburb of Copenhagen located in Hvidovre Municipality. The city is mostly made up of concrete blocks and row-housing. One major high-rise block called "Store Hus" dominates the suburb's skyline. The city has a relatively high rate of crime and many inhabitants are...
:
- Abdoulghani Tokhi: A man aged between 18 and 20, of Afghan origin.
- ST: A teenager aged 15–16, of Afghan origin, and the younger brother of AT.
- AGT: A man aged 21, of Afghan origin. He was arrested at his apartment in Rebslagerporten. Remanded to custody for 27 days.
The location of where the two last arrested is not known at the time:
- NN: A man aged between 19 and 29, of Somali origin.
- NN: A man aged between 19 and 29, of either Pakistani, Afghan, Turkish or Somali origin.
Investigation
The suspects had been under surveillance for an extended period of time and the arrests were the result of a months-long investigation.After the arrests it was announced that Matas
Matas (drug store)
Matas is a Danish drug store chain founded in 1949 by Mikkel from RSBots. The store motto is "Good Advice Makes the Difference". The chain has 295 stores all over Denmark, employing about 2300 people, with annual revenue of approximately kr1.6 billion. Matas sells both personal items, such as...
, Denmark largest drug store chain, is co-operating with domestic Security Intelligence Service to keep tabs on the sale of substances that can be used to make bombs for terrorist attacks. Common household items such as acetone
Acetone
Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...
, saltpetre
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
and hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
can - when mixed with other substances - be used to create an explosive cocktail. Sales of more than two containers of the substances on a list compiled to any one customer is registered by the shop's employees on a special form. The information is then passed on to the police. Matas has instituted the new rules at all its 292 shops across the country.
Charges
The suspects were arraigned on charges of planning a terrorist attack and accused of storing unstable explosives, possibly TATP.Possible targets
Information about possible targets has been withheld due to the on-going nature of the investigation. However, one of the targets the terrorist may have planned to attack was Nørreport stationNørreport station
Nørreport Station is a mainline railway, S-train and Copenhagen Metro station located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the busiest train station in the country, serving 300,000 people daily, including passengers not stepping off. There are 165.000 leaving or entering trains including the metro...
, the busiest train station in Denmark that serves 300,000 people a day.
The terrorist attack was possibly a response to the Danish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the 2005-2006 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
.
Trial
On Tuesday October 21, 2008, The Danish court in GlostrupGlostrup
Glostrup Kommune is a suburban municipality and town in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand approx. 10 km west of Copenhagen in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 13 km², and has a total population of 20,673 . Its Zip code is 2600...
, a suburb of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, convicted Hammad Khuershid, a Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and Abdoulghani Tokhi, an Afghan, and sentenced them to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively. The court said during sentencing that Abdoulghani Tokhi, who has a Danish residence permit, would be expelled after serving his sentence.
During the trial, prosecutors said Hammad Khuershid had links to Al Qaeda. Handwritten bomb-making manuals written by Hammad Khuershid at the pro-Taliban Lal Mosque in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
were found during the police search in his home in Denmark. Hammad Khuershid admitted he was in Waziristan region, but denies receiving any military training. Hammad Khuershid and Abdoulghani Tokhi pleaded innocent saying that the explosives were to be used for fireworks.
The prosecutors said it was not clear whether Hammad Khuershid and Abdoulghani Tokhi were preparing an attack in Denmark or abroad.
On Friday June 26, 2009, the Oestre Landsret upheld the convictions of both Hammad Khuershid and Abdolghani Tohki.
See also
- Glostrup Terrorists CaseGlostrup Terrorists CaseOn October 27th, 2005 Danish police arrested four people in Glostrup on charges of terrorism, in connection to the arrests in Bosnia of Abdulkadir Cesur and Mirsad Bektasevic . All four had been under surveillance for a while.-Suspects:...
- Vollsmose terroristsVollsmose terroristsThe Vollsmose terrorists are nine people arrested on charges of terrorism by the Danish police in the Vollsmose neighbourhood of Odense on September 5, 2006...
- Mohamad Al-Khaled SamhaMohamad Al-Khaled SamhaMohamad Al-Khaled is a Danish imam.Al-Khaled started an Islamic information and advice center in Vollsmose, Odense.Al-Khaled worked together with Christian priests to put up a display on religions in the municipality building...
- German Terror Plot 9/07