AN EXPLOSIVES handbook for Islamist fighters was found on a computer belonging to a British Muslim on trial for terrorism offences, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

The Mujahideen Explosives Manual gave detailed instructions on how to make an “earthquake bomb” and fuses from shoelaces. It also contained a recipe for creating a bomb from ammonium nitrate fertiliser. The seven men on trial are accused of conspiring to create an explosion at a major British target, using 600kg of fertiliser.

Dozens of computers were seized from the defendants’ homes and nearby internet cafés in southeast England in March 2004, when most of the arrests were made, the court was told.

Jawad Akbar, 23, was among those arrested in Crawley, West Sussex. The bombmaking guide was discovered in files on his laptop, by detectives from the high-tech unit of the Scotland Yard anti-terrorism branch. The manual contained colour diagrams and ratios. It was written by Abdel Aziz, who claimed to have trained at weapons camps and fought with Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, Carlos the Jackal.

Mark Heywood, for the prosecution, said that the handbook gave detailed instructions on how to make a bomb from fertiliser so strong that it would “make the ground shake”.

The defendants had stored 600kg of explosive fertiliser in a North London lock-up but were arrested before they could build a device, it is claimed.

It also included advice on how to mix ingredients at home in a blender, and recommended mixing the ammonium nitrate with aluminium powder, a substance allegedly found at the home of Omar Khyam, 24, and his brother Shujah Mahmood, 19, who also lived in Crawley.

A computer found at the brothers’ family home contained videos of Taleban executions in Kabul and film of a rape victim’s family executing the attacker in Iran, the court was told. A user had also looked at websites selling stun guns and batons, the court was told.

A foreword in the manual said: “[This book] will definitely allow you to blow the roof off but with less efficiency than that of a rocket scientist. The explosives have been tested and actually work.”

Detectives searching Mr Akbar’s home also found a US military field guide which included training on how to use grenades, missiles and rifles and how to deal with military stress.

Joel Bennathan, defending Mr Khyam, said that both manuals could have been easily downloaded from the internet.

Mr Akbar, Mr Khyam, Mr Mahmood and Waheed Mahmood, 34, all from Crawley; Anthony Garcia, 24, from Ilford, East London; Nabeel Hussain, 21, from Horley, Surrey; and Salahuddin Amin, 31, from Luton, deny conspiring with others to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or injure property between January 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004. Mr Hussain, Mr Garcia and Mr Khyam also deny possessing the 600kg of fertiliser for the purposes of terrorism between November 11, 2003, and March 31, 2004.

Mr Khyam and Shujah Mahmood further deny possessing aluminium powder for purposes connected with terrorism between October 1, 2003, and March 31, 2004.

It is alleged that many of the group had undergone explosives and weapons training in Pakistan before flying back to Britain to carry out an attack.

The court has heard how they were arrested after months of surveillance by MI5 in a series of synchronised dawn raids at the suspects’ addresses across London and the South East on March 30, 2004.

The trial continues.

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