London terror suspect loses his nerve

A suspect in a failed attempt to bomb London's transit system in July 2005 broke down and told a court of the moment when he was asked to be a suicide bomber.

Photo: London terror suspect loses his nerve

Ghanaian-born Manfo Kwaku Asiedu told Woolwich Crown Court he collapsed in tears after one of his co-accused, Muktar Said Ibrahim, demonstrated what would happen when he detonated his backpack bomb.

Asiedu, who prosecutors say dumped his device after losing his nerve at the last minute, said he was terrified after realizing what he was involved in.

"I wanted to live. I wanted to have a good life. I wanted to support my family," he told the court. "It is just something that I have never thought of in my life."

The 34-year-old took several minutes to regain his composure as he told the hushed court how fellow defendant Yassin Omar tried to reassure him that he "wasn't going to hurt anyone."

"I just told him: 'Listen I don't believe in this jihad. I don't believe in this jihad. That is the end of it," he said. Asiedu, Ibrahim, 29, and Omar, 26, are among six men accused of plotting to bomb three subway trains and a bus on July 21, 2005, two weeks after four other bombers killed 52 people and themselves, also aboard three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus.

The July 21 plot failed because the bombs did not detonate.

The other accused are Hussain Osman, 28, Ramzi Mohammed, 25, and Adel Yahya, 24.

The six men deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.