February 21, 2013

(JTA) — Three British Muslims were convicted of plotting to carry out al-Qaida-inspired terrorist attacks, including on Jewish targets.

The Community Security Trust, which provides security services for British Jewish institutions and individuals, said the three planned to attack a synagogue.

Irfan Naseer, 31, and Ashik Ali and Irfan Khalid, both 27, of Birmingham, England, were found guilty Thursday in a London court on 12 counts of preparing for acts of terrorism between December 2010 and their arrest the following year, the BBC reported.

They are expected to serve life terms in prison when they are sentenced in April or May.

Jurors were told they planned to set off up to eight bombs, using timers to detonate the charges, before their arrest amid fears that an attack was imminent.

In welcoming the verdict, the Community Security Trust said in a statement, “The terrorists’ suggestion of a gun attack against a synagogue is yet another disturbing example of would-be anti-Semitic terrorism here in Britain.”

The three men and others had posed as charity workers on the streets of Birmingham and collected thousands of pounds from unsuspecting members of the public to fund their activities.

Nine men in all have been convicted as a result of the investigation.

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