David Brown
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One of the London suicide bombers made a series of poignant home videos saying goodbye to his baby daughter as he prepared to die, Kingston Crown Court was told yesterday.
In one recording Mohammed Sidique Khan introduced baby Maryam to her “uncles”: his fellow July 7 bombers Shezhad Tanweer and Hasib Hussain and their alleged conspirator, Waheed Ali.
Khan made the recordings in the days before going to Pakistan to join the jihad in November 2004. He had been due to take the trip nine months earlier but asked for a delay as his wife, Hasina Patel, was heavily pregnant and he wanted to see his unborn child, the court was told.
One message for his daughter made clear that Khan would not see her again and that “he was going to his death”, the prosecution claimed.
Clutching Maryam, he said: “Sweetheart, not long to go now. And I’m going to really, really, miss you a lot. I’m thinking about it already. Look, I absolutely love you to bits and you have been the happiest thing in my life. You and your mum, absolutely brilliant. I don’t know what else to say.
“I just wish I could have been part of your life, especially, these growing up these next months, they’re really special with you learning to walk and things. I just so much wanted to be with you but I have to do this thing for our future and it will be best, insha’Al-lah, in the long run. That’s the most important thing.
“You make plenty of Dua [special prayer] for you guys and you’ve got loads of people to look after you and keep an eye on you.” He then bent his head and tenderly kissed his daughter’s hair before continuing: “But most importantly I entrust you to Allah and let Allah take care of you. And I’m doing what I’m doing for the sake of Islam, not, you know, it’s not for materialistic or worldly benefits.”
However, a week after Khan had arrived in Pakistan with Tanweer they changed their plans and decided to turn their attention to an attack in Britain, the prosecution claims.
Khan returned to Leeds on February 8, 2005.
Mrs Patel gave her husband’s recordings to a friend who passed them to the police in the aftermath of the London bombings in which Khan had killed himself and six other Tube passengers at Edgware Road.
They were played yesterday during the trial of Mr Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil, who are accused of conspiring with the July 7 bombers to cause an explosion. They all deny the charge.
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