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British Airways Worker Convicted of Terror Plot

IT specialist Rajib Karim worked with Anwar al-Awlaki, messages show

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 28, 2011 1:13 PM CST

(Newser) – A British Airways IT specialist has been convicted of plotting to blow up a plane, along with three additional counts of terrorist planning—including conspiring with Yemen-based radical Anwar al-Awlaki and passing him useful information. It took police nine months to crack encrypted messages on Rajib Karim’s home computer; investigators called them the most complex yet seen in British terror, the Guardian reports.

Born in Bangladesh, Karim and his brother had supported a banned radical group, the BBC notes. Karim, who studied at Manchester University, returned to England in 2006 and took a job at BA in 2007; police believe he was looking for a position where he could contribute to the terrorist cause. A message from Awlaki—whom Karim called "professor"—asked if it was “possible to get a package or person with a package on board a flight heading to the US,” noting that a US attack was “our highest priority.” Click for more on Rajib Karim.

In this image taken from video and released by SITE Intelligence Group on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010, Anwar al-Awlaki speaks in a video message posted on radical websites Monday Nov. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/SITE Intelligence Group)

Rajib Karim. (AP Photo)

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British Airways Worker Convicted of Terror Plot

IT specialist Rajib Karim worked with Anwar al-Awlaki, messages show

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