London charges five with bombing plot

LONDON, April 8 (UPI) -- Four men among those rounded up in a series of anti-terror raids in London last week were charged with terrorist offenses Thursday evening.

The four were charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or injure property. A 17-year-old had been charged earlier with the same offense, the BBC reported.

They were among a group suspects rounded up last week in an operation involving more than 700 police offers across London and the south east. The operation uncovered a half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in a west London self-storage unit.

The four men charged today were: Anthony Garcia, 21, of Ilford, Essex; Jawad Akbar, 20, from Crawley, West Sussex; Omar Khyam, 22, of Crawley and 32-year-old Waheed Mahmoud, also from Crawley.

The men are alleged to have "unlawfully and maliciously" conspired with the 17-year-old to cause an explosion between Oct. 1 and March 31.