Terrorism In England: Mother, Daughters Plotted Grenade Attack On British Museum, Other Landmarks

A British teen allegedly attempted to form an all-female terrorist group with plans to launch a gun and grenade attack on landmark buildings in London, according to court reports.

Safaa Boular, who was 17 at the time, allegedly looked to become a "martyr" and marry an Islamic State militant she had met online.

Boular, now 18, denied her involvement in the terrorist plots during a hearing Thursday at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in London.

Her plans, however, were thwarted when police learned of Boular's plan to travel to Syria to meet her fiance Naweed Hussain.

She allegedly looked to enlist her mother and sister in a plot to attack the British Museum and the Palace of Westminster, according to BBC News.

When she was arrested for an attempt to travel to Syria to marry Hussain, Boular then passed along her plan to her sister and mother to carry out.

Rizlaine Boular, 21, confessed to organizing an alleged knife attack in Westminster on April 27, 2017, with help and support from her mother Mina Dich, 44, the jury was told. Police foiled the plan and arrested them both.

Safaa Boular had announced her love for Hussain in August 2016 after talking online with him for three months, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told the court. He added that she had a desire to join Hussain in Syria where they would carry out terrorist attacks.

Safaa Boular reportedly talked about her terrorist plot with Hussain through a secret encrypted Telegram chat. But British Security Services, with the use of specially-trained "role play" officers, bugged their phone and heard the two laughing about the Westminster attack in March 2016.

"It was clear that Hussain had been planning an act of terrorism with Safaa Boular in which she could engage if she remained in this country. Both Hussain and Safaa Boular talked of a planned ambush involving grenades and or firearms," Atkinson told the court.

Safaa Boular aimed to "unleash violence and terror in the heart of London," with the intention of sparking wide-spread panic, Atkinson said.

"Based on her preparation and discussion, it appears she planned to launch an attack against members of the public selected largely at random in the environs of that cultural jewel and most popular of tourist attractions, the British Museum in central London."

However, Safaa Boular’s attorney, Joel Bennathan QC, argued that she was "sexually groomed" and "groomed to be radicalized." He added that there was no evidence that she intended to plot any attacks.