( CNN ) -- Four Swedish nationals will stand trial in Copenhagen Friday in what officials describe as the most serious ever Islamist terrorist plot in Scandinavia . The alleged plot , which counter-terrorism officials in the United States and Scandinavia believe was directed by al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan , targeted Jyllands Posten , the Copenhagen-based newspaper responsible for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed . The four persons are alleged to have planned a gun attack on the newspaper , followed by `` the execution '' of hostages . The cell 's alleged plans were thwarted by a joint operation by Swedish and Danish security services , which tracked the alleged terrorists as they drove from Sweden to Denmark in December 2010 , with a submachine gun , a silencer , and several dozen 9mm submachine gun cartridges . The four persons - Mounir Dhahri , 46 , of Tunisian descent , Munir Awad , 31 , of Lebanese descent , Sahbi Zalouti , 39 , of Tunisian descent , and Omar Aboelazm , 32 , of Egyptian descent - are charged with plotting to kill a large number of people at the newspaper . They have denied the charges . Western security services believe the plot was part of a broader al Qaeda conspiracy , authorized by Osama bin Laden , to strike Europe with attacks mirroring Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar e Taiba 's Mumbai attack in November 2008 , which killed nearly 200 people . In October 2010 , the U.S. State Department issued an unprecedented travel advisory warning Americans of the potential for a similar attack in Europe . Dhahri , the suspected ringleader of the cell , Awad , and Zalouti had all travelled to Pakistan in early 2010 . Awad and Zalouti - travelling separately - were arrested by Pakistani authorities in August 2010 before they could reach North Waziristan and were subsequently deported , according to a Swedish counterterrorism source . Dhahri evaded capture , and he is believed to have received training in Pakistan and then went to Sweden shortly before the group allegedly began to plot their attack , according to the source . Awad , the Lebanese-born suspect , had long been on the radar screen of Swedish counter-terrorism services . He was suspected of having joined up with jihadist militants in Somalia in 2006 , before fleeing the country when Ethiopian troops launched a military operation against Islamist militants there , according to a Danish security source . By October 2010 , Swedish security services had begun tracking the cell , placing listening devices in their apartments . A Swedish counter-terrorism source told CNN the group only settled on attacking the newspaper shortly before the planned attack , and often squabbled . On the evening of December 28 , 2010 , three of the alleged cell members set off from Stockholm in a silver Toyota rental car with Dhahri at the wheel . Security services continuously monitored the progress of their vehicle , including from the air . Zalouti bailed from the journey at the last minute , and was later arrested in Stockholm , according to court documents . It was just after 2 a.m. when their vehicle crossed the iconic Oresund bridge connecting the two countries . When they reached Copenhagen , they were initially unable to find the address where they planned to sleep . Just after 10 a.m. on December 29 , Danish police , concerned the men may be about to try launch their operation , moved in to make the arrests . Authorities had already taken precautions . When they learned the group was planning to travel down to Denmark to allegedly carry out the operation , they secretly disabled their weapons , according to a Swedish counter-terrorism source . Plastic wrist strips were also found in their car , according to court documents , and security services said they believed the materials were going to be used to handcuff hostages . Security services believe the plan was to try to take up to 200 journalists hostage at the newspaper and execute many of them , a Swedish counter-terrorism source told CNN . `` Our assessment is that their plan was to try to get access to the Jyllands-Posten building and carry out a Mumbai-style attack , '' the head of Denmark 's intelligence service , Jakob Scharf , said in a press conference after the group was arrested . Cash amounting to $ 20,000 was also recovered from the suspects , and a pistol and ammunition were found in one of their apartments , according to court documents . The trial may shed light on what officials believe are connections between the alleged plotters and al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan . In total , police made more than a thousand recordings of the plotters ' conversations , some of which are expected to be played in court . A Swedish counter-terrorism source has told CNN that investigations have revealed a complex set of connections between the plotters and a network linked to Ilyas Kashmiri , a senior Pakistani al Qaeda operative who Western intelligence believe orchestrated al Qaeda 's plans to hit Europe with Mumbai-style attacks . Swedish security services established that Awad , the alleged Lebanese-born plotter , moved in the same circle as `` Farid , '' a Stockholm-based militant of Moroccan descent who is suspected of acting as facilitator for Ilyas Kashmiri 's terrorist network , according to a Swedish counter-terrorism source . Also involved with Kashmiri 's network was David Headley , an American of Pakistani descent who pleaded guilty two years ago to helping plot the Mumbai attacks . According to an interview of Headley by India 's National Investigation Agency that was obtained by CNN , Headley met with Farid in 2009 in relation to a plot Headley himself was planning against the Jyllands Posten newspaper . The newspaper and its cartoonists has been targeted by several plots in recent years , including a plot by a Norwegian al Qaeda cell broken up in July 2010 . Western counter-terrorism officials say that despite the reported death of Kashmiri in a drone strike in June 2011 , al Qaeda has not given up its hope to launch gun and hostage execution attacks in Europe because of the huge publicity and fear such attacks would create .
Four Islamist nationals are to stand trial for an alleged Islamist terror plot in North Waziristan . They are charged with plotting an attack against the Prophet Mohammed . , a Taiba newspaper . The newspaper published controversial cartoons of Jyllands Posten The plot was thwarted by authorities .