Contact book hid information on al-Qaeda leaders in invisible ink

London, Sept.25 : A court in Britain has been told that a junior al Qaeda associate was recruited to carry a "terrorist contacts book" that contained information of the terror network's leaders in invisible ink.

Rangzieb Ahmed, 33, flew home in December 2005 after an alleged terrorist operation in Dubai and Saudi Arabia was aborted when something went wrong.

A second man, Habib Ahmed, 28, unrelated to Rangzieb Ahmed, was ordered to carry three books or diaries belonging to him that contained information on how al-Qaeda operatives could contact each other secretly, the Manchester Crown Court was told.

According to The Times, some of the material, described as "considerably important to a terrorist", was written in invisible ink.

Other passages related to communicating with other members and phone numbers of important al-Qaeda figures.

The jury was told that Rangzieb Ahmed was tracked using covert surveillance. Listening devices had been hidden in a hotel room in Dubai and in cars used by the two men on their return to Manchester.

Ahmed, of Manchester, denies a charge of directing terrorism. It is the first time that the charge, brought under the Terrorism Act 2000, has been employed in a British court.

Also in the dock are Habib Ahmed, a taxi driver, and his wife, Mehreen Haji, 27, who also live in Manchester with their two children.

ANI