By Andrew Young-
A teenage Iraqi asylum seeker has been found guilty of attempted murder after planting a bomb that partially exploded on a Tube train at Parsons Green.
A jury at the Old Bailey took just a day to find the 18-year-old Ahmed Hassan, from Surrey, guilty of attempted murder.Jurors heard how Hassan wanted to cause “maximum” carnage to avenge the death of his father, who was blown up in Iraq over 10 years ago.
Parson Green Attempted Murderer
Hassan tried to pull the wool over the jury’s eyes, as he claimed he only wanted to make a fire to fulfil a “fugitive fantasy” to be chased by Interpol which was inspired by action films. A jury found him guilty of the attempted murder of 93 people when a fireball engulfed a Tube carriage at Parsons Green on 15 September last year.
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Prosecutor Alison Morgan said it was “a matter of luck that the device did not function as intended”. Made from triacetone triperoxide (TATP), also known as “Mother of Satan”, the bomb is an extremely volatile homemade explosive.
Experts told the Old Bailey that even a gram of TATP had the potential to cause serious injury. The Parsons Green device contained 400g of the high explosive. Hassan packed 300g of TATP into Tupperware container and another 100g in a glass vase.
The 18-year-old, who had been living with foster parents in Surrey was studying media at college and nurtured ambitions to become a wildlife photographer “like David Attenborough”. A religious Sunni Muslim, he prayed five times a day. However, his dark side was fueled with a craving for attention and a bizarre fantasy to be chased as a fugitive and not get caught. Hassan was a clever pupil at college and had been named a student of the year only three months earlier. He used the gift card reward for his academic excellence to buy five liters of hydrogen peroxide in order to make a bomb
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The Old Bailey that even a gram of TATP had the potential to cause serious injury. The Parsons Green device contained 400g of the high explosive. Hassan packed 300g of TATP into Tupperware container and another 100g in a glass vase.
The containers were packed into a white plastic bucket and carried inside a Lidl bag. Adding to the overwhelming evidence of intention against mr.Hassan, the tub had been packed with 2.2kg of knives, screwdrivers, screws, bolts, nails and other metal items designed to cause “maximum harm and carnage in the surrounding area,” Ms Morgan said.
“The partial explosion caused a large fireball. Some in the carriage were caught by the flames and sustained significant burns, many ran in fear and panic,” Ms Morgan said.
“They were fortunate – had the device fully detonated, it is inevitable that serious injury and significant damage would have been caused within the carriage. Those in close proximity to the device may well have been killed.”
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