Bomber's brother 'was plotting terror act in the UK'
- Published
The court was told Mohammed Awan's brother Rizwan appeared to have joined the Islamic State (IS) group
The brother of a suicide bomber killed in Iraq was caught by police preparing to commit an act of terrorism in the UK, a court has heard.
Mohammed Awan, 24, was arrested days after buying 500 ball bearings, and possessed extremist material advising they could be used in home-made bombs.
It is alleged the dentistry student from Huddersfield owned a guide book on how to form a sleeper cell in the West.
His brother Rizwan Awan killed dozens in a bomb blast in Iraq in 2016.
Sheffield Crown Court was told Rizwan had travelled from Manchester to Istanbul on 17 May, 2015 and appeared to have joined the Islamic State (IS) group.
Anti-terror police carried out a raid at the family home in Huddersfield
The court heard anti-terror police swooped on 1 June this year after Awan, a Sheffield University student, had bought a bag of ball bearings on the internet.
They were delivered to the family home in Rudding Street, Huddersfield.
More material was discovered during a raid at his flat in Sheffield, including a terrorist publication titled 'How to Survive in the West' which was found on a memory stick headed 'My Stuff'.
The court was told the document is a guide book on how to create a sleeper cell, including advice on using ball bearings as shrapnel and how to make bombs.
A review of images and audio files taken from a mobile phone included pictures of the Boston marathon bombing and a man wearing an orange jumpsuit about to be executed.
Awan claimed the memory stick belonged to his dead brother and he had kept it for sentimental reasons.
But the prosecution said Rizwan Awan's own digital services had been reset to factory settings and wiped clean before he left the country.
Mohammed Awan denies preparing an act of terrorism and two charges of possessing terrorist-related documents.
The trial continues.