British Jury in Terror Case Shown 'Martyrdom Tapes'

"Otherwise, expect floods of martyr operations against you," he said, warning that "we will take our revenge" and leave "your people's body parts decorating the streets."

The eight defendants sat impassively at the back of the courtroom, behind a wall of thick glass, as the videotapes were played on a large screen. The men, all British Muslims who range in age from 23 to 29, most of Pakistani heritage, have pleaded not guilty.

Wright also played a videotape of a controlled explosion conducted by government scientists. They had constructed a bomb identical to the ones that the defendants are accused of trying to make, he said: a 17-ounce soft-drink bottle, filled with a hydrogen peroxide-based liquid explosive, connected to a detonator set off by the flash in a disposable camera.

On the tape, the device yielded a powerful explosion that caused extensive damage to the room where the test took place.

"In the confined space of a pressurized aircraft, an explosion such as that would, we say, have a devastating and quite lethal effect, particularly at 30,000 feet," Wright told the jury.

On the second day of his opening statement, Wright focused particularly on defendant Assad Sarwar, 27. Wright said Sarwar, Ali and Mohammed Gulzar, 26, were the plot's central planners.

Wright said police had found airline records that showed Sarwar had traveled to Pakistan in June 2006 and returned in July. Wright said prosecutors believe Sarwar has "direct links to those overseas that may have a clear interest in the success of any such terrorist outrage struck in the name of Islam."

He said a search of Sarwar's house yielded a videotape with five of the suicide messages and two computer memory sticks that held "a veritable mine of information" on targets. He said Sarwar did not intend to commit suicide so he could carry out further attacks.

"The horizon in respect of Mr. Sarwar's terrorist ambition was, we say, limitless," Wright declared, adding that the memory stick also contained radical Islamic doctrine on suicide missions with the command, "Slay the infidels wherever you find them."

Wright said police investigators also found records indicating that Sarwar had been stockpiling hydrogen peroxide, a widely available substance that is a common bomb ingredient among violent extremists worldwide.

Wright played a police surveillance video of Sarwar purchasing a suitcase and walking into a wooded area near his home. Later, police found the suitcase partially buried in the woods, filled with syringes, hydrogen peroxide and other materials intended for bombmaking, Wright said.

While Wright methodically built his case against the defendants, the videotapes were by far the most dramatic elements of his presentation. Each was filled with deep anger.

On one tape, a man Wright said was defendant Tanvir Hussain, 27, stated that he wished he could commit more than one suicide attack. He wanted to "just do it again and again until people come to their senses and realize, you know, don't mess with the Muslims."

On his tape, Islam accused the British of caring about nothing other than drinking, soccer and their favorite television shows. He said British residents were responsible for the government's foreign policy because they pay taxes.

"I say to you disbelievers that as you bomb, you will be bombed, and as you kill, you will be killed," he said. "And if you want to kill our women and children, then the same thing will happen to you."