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Secret trial starts for Mumbai-style plot
02:08 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

NEW: Defendant Erol Incedal had documents on how to build a bomb, prosecution says

NEW: Incedal denies two charges; a second defendant has admitted to one charge

Prosecution says Incedal planned either a mass attack or an attack on a prominent person

He had the address of a property belonging to former UK PM Tony Blair, the court hears

London CNN  — 

A man was accused Tuesday in a UK court of planning either an indiscriminate “Mumbai-style” attack or an attack against a prominent person – possibly former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Erol Incedal is accused of preparing terrorist acts with the intention of committing terrorism, and of having documents on how to build a bomb.

He denies the charges against him.

The trial at the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court originally had been planned as a secret trial, but a judge has allowed some reporting of its opening phase.

Incedal is accused of possessing documents that refer to bomb making which, according to the prosecution, were found on an SD card hidden between an iPhone and its protective case.

Police also found a piece of paper tucked inside a glasses case with an address tied to Blair, the prosecution said. However, prosecutors do not allege that Incedal had settled on a plan to attack the former Prime Minister.

His iPhone had been used to carry out Internet searches for “ISIS” and “Sham,” the court heard, the latter being a reference to Syria.

A second defendant, Mounir Rarmoul-Bouhadjar, has pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a document that could be used in a terror attack, also on an SD card hidden between an iPhone and its case.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the prosecution, both men had three identical documents on their respective SD cards.

They included a “Car Bomb Recognition Guide” and a “bomb making” Word document, parts of which were considered “viable” but also incomplete, the court heard.

One document found at Incedal’s home had a reference to “Plan,” which looks like a checklist including “1 month surveillance,” “rent flat nearby,” “uniform,” and “tools and materials,” prosecutors said.

Incedal and Bouhadjar communicated via email and Skype using code words and aliases to refer to the words “Kalashnikov” and “Mumbai style,” the prosecution said.

They also allegedly talked of obtaining “straps” – slang for guns – the court heard.

More than 160 people were killed in November 2008 when 10 Pakistani gunmen associated with the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba stormed buildings in Mumbai, India.