Radicals admit City of London terror plot Four Islamist extremists admitted on Wednesday that they had plotted a terrorist attack on the London Stock Exchange and other targets in 2010 in a conspiracy inspired by al-Qaeda propaganda. In a case seen by some security experts as underscoring the threat London might face at this year's Olympics, the four men - all British citizens - pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct preparatory to acts of terrorism. IN UK Politics & Policy The four men - Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, Shah Rahman, 28, Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25 - talked about sending five mail bombs to various targets over the 2010 Christmas period. They discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity - a reference to the bomb blasts that killed 166 people in India's financial centre in 2008. A hand-written target list found at one of the defendant's homes also listed the names and addresses of Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, two rabbis, the US embassy and the stock exchange. Five other men involved in the terror gang pleaded guilty to other terrorism offences. These five defendants admitted attending planning meetings, fundraising for terrorism and possessing copies of the al-Qaeda magazine, Inspire. All nine will be sentenced next week. Security experts said that the plot, which was foiled by police and MI5 in December 2010, indicates how Britain faces a growing terrorist threat from individuals who are radicalised by jihadist propaganda. All nine men admitted that they were influenced by the preachings of Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-based jihadist, killed in a US drone strike last year. MI5 is increasingly concerned by the impact that internet propaganda has on British nationals whom the agency would describe as "self-starters." This latest plot is also being seen as an indication of how MI5 successfully uses covert bugging and surveillance techniques in its counter-terrorism operations. Testimony at the trial revealed that the security services planted listening devices in cars, homes and computer memory sticks in order to track the plotters" operations. Mohammed Chowdhury, the lynchpin of the plotters, was seen by MI5 officers surveying tourist sites, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. Bugged conversations show he was planning to plant a bomb in a toilet at the London Stock Exchange. The main concern of security experts is that the plot indicates the kind of threat London might face this summer when it hosts the Olympic Games. Although the US and its allies have significantly degraded the core al-Qaeda group in the Pakistani tribal areas, the police and MI5 believe some jihadist groups may try to target the Games or some other site in the UK. When police swooped on all nine men in three cities in the early morning of December 2010, they said it was the most significant anti-terror raid for two years. No firm dates were set for an attack and no bombs were created. However, prosecutors said , the defendants had the wherewithal to carry out an attack. Speaking after the case, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, said the convictions would go a long way towards protecting the public. He said: "We welcome the guilty pleas entered by all nine defendants today, following what was the largest counter-terrorism operation of 2010."