Terror accused had bomb-making guides - court

Mohammad Farooq denies preparing acts of terrorism

A man accused of trying to bomb a hospital downloaded documents on how to make explosives, a court has heard.

Mohammad Farooq, 28, is accused of targeting St James's Hospital in Leeds in January 2023.

He denies preparing acts of terrorism, but has pleaded guilty to firearms offences and possessing an explosive substance with intent.

Mr Farooq also pleaded guilty to having a document likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

On Tuesday Det Con Maisie Stevens told jurors at Sheffield Crown Court Mr Farooq's downloads included a 157-page document called The Anarchist's Cookbook.

The guide contained instructions on how to make "a variety of explosives and different booby traps", she said.

One passage read: "This chapter is going to kill and maim more people than all the other pages put together."

Mr Farooq also downloaded another guide, entitled Safety and Security Guidelines for Lone Wolf Mujahideen and Small Cells, she told the court.

A screenshot of a video on how to make black powder was also discovered on his phone, as well as searches for ingredients needed for the explosive substance and a pressure cooker, she added.

Mr Farooq previously worked at St James's Hospital

On Monday jurors heard Mr Farooq was arrested with a pressure cooker bomb outside the Gledhow Wing of the hospital in the early hours of 20 January 2023.

The court was told he had also downloaded numerous propaganda videos from social media, including one entitled 'How the West turns Children against Muslims'.

Another video referenced Jewish people "controlling the world", said prosecutor Mr Angus MacDonald.

One month before his arrest, he allegedly wrote a note on his phone which read “It’s better to die than to live a life of humiliation. There’s much suffering in the Muslim world […] maybe it’s time we stand up, maybe it’s time we fight back.”

Mr Farooq had also given himself the alias ‘Ghost Man’, which he used on WhatsApp for a Telegram account, Det Con Stevens added.

It was also claimed Mr Farooq had made eBay searches for a machete and a bow and arrow in the months leading up to the attack.

The court was told he transferred £170 to his wife's bank account to buy a 9mm blank firearm and 9mm blank ammunition from a shop in Leeds.

Police later found photos of the gun, which had been painted black, on a desk in what appeared to be an NHS office.

At the time, Mr Farooq worked at St James's Hospital.

'Lone wolf hitlist'

"Viable" recipes for nerve agents which experts said could cause multiple fatalities were discovered on his mobile phone, Det Con Stevens told jurors.

Searches on his device also included enquiries about how to turn a blank firearm into a live one.

A copy of the evacuation plan for the ward he would later allegedly claim to have planted a bomb on to lure people into a trap was also found on his device, the trial was told.

On 27 November 2022 he searched 'ISIS lone wolf hitlist', which police said produced results of four RAF bases.

Jurors were previously told Mr Farooq's first target was RAF Menwith Hill, a spy base near Harrogate which is operated by US and UK staff.

ANPR cameras showed he visited the site twice in the 10 days leading up to his arrest and made an internet search for events and jobs there following one trip.

On the evening of the attack, jurors heard Farooq called in sick from his shift at the hospital, then drove to his place of work with a pressure cooker bomb.

While there, he recorded a voice note warning of a bomb that had been planted on a hospital ward before texting a staff member: “I have placed a pressure cooker bomb on J28, it will detonate in one hour. Let’s see how many lives you will save.”

He remained on the hospital grounds for several hours with the bomb in his possession, the court heard. It was then he encountered a patient, Nathan Newby, who alerted the police.

Mr Newby is due to give evidence at a later date.

The trial continues.

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