Trial Begins of Teenager Charged with Parsons Green Terror Attack
Court hears details evidence of Ahmed Hassan's movements on day of explosion
The trial has begun at the Old Bailey of teenager Ahmed Hassan, who is accused of planting a bomb on a District line train which partially exploded at Parsons Green Station.
Iraqui born Hassan, 18 from Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey has denied responsibility for the terror attack on September 15 which injured 30 people.
He denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan told the jurors that Mr Hassan, an Iraqi asylum seeker, packed a bomb with screwdrivers, knives and nails to cause "maximum carnage" on the rush hour Tube.
She said: "There were approximately 93 people in the carriage when the device detonated.
"The partial explosion created a large fireball. Some in the carriage were caught by the flames and sustained significant burns.
"Many ran in fear and panic. They were fortunate . Had the device fully detonated, it is inevitable that serious injury and significant damage would have been caused within the carriage."
She told the court that Hassan, who claimed asylum in 2015, researched the contents of his home-made bomb in his phone, and CCTV images showed him shopping for parts including batteries and a screwdriver.
On the day of the attack, the court was told that he set the timer in the toilet at Wimbledon Station, got on the train and left the device in a bucket contained inside a Lidl shopping bag when he got off at Putney Bridge Station.
He then boarded a bus, and CCTV images show him looking towards Parsons Green, dismantling his phone, removing the SD card, biting it in two and hiding it.
After getting off the bus, Hassan disposed of the phone in a bin at Earls Court and took a tube to Richmond.
He was next seen boarding a train to Brighton, then to Ashford and Kent and on to Dover, changing his clothing along the way.
He was arrested in Dover at around 7.50am on Saturday, 16 September.
The trial continues.
March 7, 2018
