Iraqi teen convicted of attempted murder for London Underground bombing
The attack on a train car in September 2017 injured 30 people.
LONDON -- An Iraqi teenager whose homemade bomb exploded on a London Underground train in 2017 has been convicted of attempted murder. He faces life in jail.
Ahmed Hassan, 18, carried out the attack on Sept. 15, 2017. Thirty people were injured in the blast.
In 2016 Hassan had been referred to the British government’s deradicalization program, according to the BBC.
Hassan's improvised device was made from triacetone triperoxide, a volatile and powerful explosive.
The device was packed with knives, bolts and other sharp metal objects. Hassan had packed hundreds of grams of the explosive into a Tupperware container and a vase, concealed inside a shopping bag. It partially detonated, releasing a fireball in the train car that injured dozens of commuters.
CCTV footage shows Hassan leaving the bag on the train two stops before it exploded.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said it was “a matter of luck that the device did not function as intended.”
Hassan's lawyer told the jury that it was not his intention to kill anyone and Hassan had only wanted attention. Hassan pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder.
The jury was told that Hassan had arrived in the U.K. as an unaccompanied child asylum-seeker, traveling to Britain in a truck after spending time in a migrant camp in northern France.