Men "scouted targets" for British 7/7 bombings - court

By Andrew Hough

LONDON (Reuters) - The first three men to be charged in connection with the July 7, 2005 London suicide bombings went on trial on Thursday, accused of scouting for potential targets in the capital.

Mohammed Shakil, 31, Sadeer Saleem, 27 and Waheed Ali, 24, were friends with the bombers and shared common beliefs, Kingston Crown Court was told.

The bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain killed 52 people and wounded hundreds in co-ordinated morning rush hour attacks on three underground trains and a bus.

During a reconnaissance weekend seven months before the bombings, two of the accused visited the London Eye, the Natural History Museum and the London Aquarium, prosecutors alleged.

They said various types of evidence would help explain the group's motivations including contacts with people convicted of terrorist activity; travelling to Pakistan and possessing radical ideological material.

The court heard the accused had extensive contact with the bombers, which had been uncovered through mobile records, fingerprints on documents, family videos and surveillance.

Prosecutors say that between Nov. 17, 2004 and July 8, 2005, the defendants "unlawfully and maliciously" conspired with the four bombers and others unknown to cause explosions likely to endanger life or cause serious harm and injury.

The group, all from Beeston, Leeds, deny the single charge under the Explosive Substances Act 1883.