Man convicted of terrorism, bomb-making

A Court convicted a 28-year-old man of planning a terrorist attack and making explosives in Afghanistan and Britain on Tuesday.

London’s Old Bailey, England’s top criminal court, found Khalid Mohammed Omar Ali guilty of planning an attack against police officers, lawmakers or military personnel in London, plus two counts of making explosives.

Ali, from north London, was arrested during a “proactive armed police operation’’ near the British parliament in central London’s Westminster area in April 2017.

He was carrying three knives in a backpack.

His fingerprints were also found on bomb components made by the Taliban in Afghanistan, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

The police said counter-terrorism officers had monitored Ali’s activities since he returned to Britain from Afghanistan via Turkey in November 2016.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, Britain’s national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said Ali appeared to have “spent some considerable years helping the Taliban create and maybe even detonate bombs which could maim and kill many people in Afghanistan.’’

In Britain, Ali’s intended targets were “people who represented the UK authorities and he demonstrated a particular interest in the police, how they worked and what their capability was,’’ Haydon said.