LONDON: A woman has pleaded guilty to two terrorism offences, including scoping out St Paul’s cathedral in London as a possible bomb target, police said on Friday.

Safiyya Shaikh, 36, of Hayes, west London, has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at the Old Bailey on May 11.

She was charged last October with preparing terrorist acts including making contact with someone she believed could help her make explosives and staying in a hotel to conduct reconnaissance.

The statement of charges also said she selected the hotel as a target for an explosive device and then scoped out St Paul’s as a location to plant a second bomb. She also prepared words of a pledge of allegiance to the militant Islamic State group.

The second charge related to disseminating terrorist publications, police added in a statement.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020