Would-be suicide bomber sentenced to prison

A would-be suicide bomber who tried to detonate a nail bomb in a restaurant but injured only himself was sentenced Friday to at least 18 years in prison.

Nicky Reilly, a 22-year-old convert to Islam, was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years. Reilly admitted to charges of attempted murder and preparing a terrorist attack at the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter in southwestern England on May 22 of last year. “The offense of attempted murder is aggravated by the fact that it was long-planned, that it had multiple intended victims and was intended to terrorize the population of this country,” Justice David Calvert-Smith said. “It was sheer luck or chance that it did not succeed in its objectives.”

Reilly, of Plymouth, England, was seriously injured when a device exploded in his hands while he was in a toilet at the restaurant. No one else was injured. Jurors were told that Reilly had learning difficulties and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. People with this condition have difficulties in social interaction.

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