Police hunt bomber's associates

A police team is to travel to Pakistan to try to find men who are believed to have radicalised a failed suicide bomber from Devon, the BBC has learned.

Nicky Reilly, 22, from Plymouth, has admitted attempted murder at Exeter's Giraffe restaurant in May.

Simon Hall, BBC South West's Home Affairs Correspondent, said police found he had communicated with two men.

Police, who said Reilly was preyed on, will have the co-operation of Pakistani officers and internet firms.

Reilly, of King Street, Plymouth, who has learning difficulties and Asperger's syndrome, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to attempting to detonate bombs in plastic bottles which where also filled with about 500 nails.

Fled in panic

He is due to be sentenced on 30 January after doctors assess his mental state.

He was the only person injured in the incident when a bomb went off in his hands in a toilet cubicle as he prepared the attack.

Dozens of customers then fled in panic.

After he was arrested, Devon and Cornwall Police said Reilly had been "preyed on, radicalised and taken advantage of".

BBC correspondent Simon Hall said: "Searches of Reilly's computer revealed he was in touch with two men in Pakistan.

"They encouraged him, talking about the need to wage so-called 'holy war' on the West, and giving him advice on what targets to choose and how to build his bomb to try to cause maximum casualties."

Reilly had asked for advice on what target to attack

The team of detectives is hoping to identify and find the recipients of his e-mails.

One terrorism expert told the BBC he was optimistic officers would be able to find them.

Bill Tupman, from the University of Exeter's Department of Politics, said: "I think they have a very good chance because they will get a lot of cooperation from the police when they get there.

"The only problems are likely to be at the judicial level if they try to bring them back."

"But, in terms of investigation, there are a lot of Pakistani officers who have studied in Exeter and there are some surprisingly close contacts."

Mr Hall added: "Pakistan's government is cooperating with Devon and Cornwall Police in the search as are, importantly, the country's internet service providers.

"The Crown Prosecution Service is also giving detectives advice on how to investigate in Pakistan."

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