Kastrup Airport (Illustrative)
Kastrup Airport (Illustrative)Reuters

A Vietnamese worker living in the UK planned to target Israeli and American travelers with a suicide bombing attack at Heathrow Airport in London.

Minh Quang Pham, a 33-year old former McDonald’s employee, was arrested in 2011 upon his return to London from Yemen, where he had spent half a year editing propaganda material for an Al Qaeda terror cell and learning how to manufacture explosive devices.

According to an FBI report obtained by the Daily Mail, Pham trained with the infamous American-born Al Qaeda terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki.

According to the report, Pham was directed by Al Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula branch to kill Israelis and Americans in an attack on London’s Heathrow Airport. The terror group supported the planned attack financially, in addition to the training he was given in Yemen.

According to court documents “Alwaki ultimately gave Pham approximately 6,000 euros in case Pham had any unforeseen expenses during his attack preparation”.

“Pham planned on using the money to rent a house in the UK to construct the explosive device and to purchase the chemicals and other materials needed for the attack”.

The attack envisioned by Pham and his Al Qaeda handlers is eerily reminiscent of the ISIS suicide bombing attacks on an airport in Brussels earlier this year. Pham intended to construct a large explosive device, conceal it in a backpack or suitcase, and detonate it in the airport’s waiting lounge.

After Pham’s arrest in 2011, he was extradited to the United States, where he faces up to 50 years in prison.