Jailed, terror gang behind plot to rival 7/7 and transform Birmingham into a 'little war zone'... but one may be free in eight years

Irfan Naseer, 31, sent four young men to Pakistan for terrorism training

Judge describes him as 'skilled bomb maker ' and 'driving force' of plan

Mr Justice Henriques said: 'Your plot had the blessing of Al Qaeda'

Gang of 11 wanted to kill up to 2,000 Britons with eight rucksack bombs

Other leaders Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali sentenced to 20 and 23 years

Rahin Ahmed sentenced to 12 years for his role as chief financier

Four 'travellers' who went to Pakistan are jailed for 40 months each

'Skilful bomb-maker': Terror ringleader Irfan Naseer (above) has bee jailed for life for planning an attack more devastating than the July 7 bombings

One of the three terrorists who planned an attack to rival the July 7 bombings could be free in as little as eight and a half years.

The trio – all British-born – were jailed yesterday for plotting a wave of suicide bombings aimed at transforming a major city into a ‘little war zone’.

Ringleader Irfan Naseer was heard describing how a series of blasts would go off at the same time ‘boom … boom … boom’.

A judge said their plans had been ‘at the far end of extreme’ and that they had been determined to carry out ‘mass murder’ to ‘further the aims of Al Qaeda’. But one could walk free in less than nine years despite having volunteered to strap on an explosive rucksack and detonate it in a crowded place.

The sentence contrasts with those of other major plots in which Al Qaeda-inspired terrorists were jailed for a minimum of 40 years.

It means the three men are likely to return to the neighbourhoods they wanted to destroy before they are even middle aged.

The security services said the Birmingham cell was responsible for the most serious terrorist conspiracy since the failed airline liquid bomb plot in 2006.

Naseer, 28, and Irfan Khalid, 31, travelled to Pakistan where they trained alongside Al Qaeda and learned how to make homemade explosives.

During their stay the pair recorded martyrdom videos to be released after their deaths in which they praised hate preacher Abu Qatada.

On their return they recruited Ashik Ali, 28, and transformed his one-bedroom local authority flat in Sparkhill to a bomb factory.

Naseer and Khalid told others they were working for the ‘Al Qaeda number five’ and had been sent back to Europe to spread their deadly new skills.

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Co-conspirators: Together with Naseer, the cell was led by his 'inseparable' friend Irfan Khalid (left), who boasted the attack was 'another 9/11', and Ashik Ali (right)

Sent down: 'Chief financier' Rahin Ahmed (left) and another recruit Bahader Ali were jailed for 12 and six years Foot soldiers: Mohammed Rizwan (left) and Mujahid Hussain (right) were both sentenced to four years in prison 40 months each: Shaaq Hussain (left) and Khobaib Hussain (right) travelled to Pakistan for terror training Went to terror camps: Shahid Khan (left) and Naweed Ali (right) were jailed for three years and four months The trio recruited eight followers, four of whom were sent to a Pakistani terror camp as others posed as bogus charity collectors to raise cash. But the plot was smashed in a series of police raids that followed a multi-million-pound surveillance operation in September 2011. Police finally struck after listening to the men, via a hidden bugging device, preparing to build a bomb in their kitchen. They discovered Naseer, an unemployed chemistry graduate, had drawn an intricate blueprint for a new kind of homemade bomb. It was intended to use chemicals from cold packs designed for treating sports injuries, but the men bought the wrong kind and they turned out to be harmless. In conversations bugged by MI5, Naseer estimated his nail bombs could weigh up to 5kg (11lb) and that each could kill more than 100 people. The men talked of using up to eight bombs, some on timers, which each could have killed hundreds of people. The trio funded the plot by pretending to be Muslim Aid charity street collectors Funding: Irfan Nasser, Rahin Ahmed and Irfan Khalid during a bogus charity collection to help pay for the attack

Plans: West Midlands Police photo of Irfan Nasser, Rahin Ahmed and Irfan Khalid at Birmingham Airport. They are part of a home-grown terror gang facing life in jail for plotting 'another 9/11'