Osama bin Laden wrote letters about plans to launch terror attacks on the UK, Russia and the US, Abid Naseer trial told

Documents refer to plots to attack targets in UK, Europe and Russia

The trial will be the first to use material gathered during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan (Reuters)

Al-Qaeda documents recovered from the compound of Osama bin Laden and referring to planned terror plots in the UK, Europe and Russia, have been presented at the trial of a man accused of plotting to destroy the New York subway and a Manchester shopping centre.

The documents include correspondence from a senior al-Qaeda operative to Bin laden and mention a plan to attack the US Embassy in Moscow. There is also a reference to a plan to bomb a pipeline.

The materials were seized by US special forces who raided Bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 and killed the al-Qaeda founder. They have been presented at the trial of Abid Naseer, 28, who has denied the charges levelled at him and who has been defending himself in court.

Abid Naseer is charged with plotting attacks in New York and Manchester (AP)

The Associated Press said the documents were presented by government prosecutors on Wednesday, a day after five British agents from MI5 gave evidence to the court about their surveillance of suspects in Manchester and Liverpool as part of what was called Operation Pathway.

The agents were identified only by numbers and the judge had given permission for them to wear wigs and make-up to disguise themselves if they wished to.

The trial will be the first to use material gathered during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan (Reuters)

Among the documents in the possession of the prosecutors is a letter sent to Bin Laden by senior aide Saleh Al-Somali. While it did not name Mr Naseer, the letter made a reference to the arrest of alleged Al-Qaeda operatives. The prosecutors said the letter was important because it showed the intentions of Al-Qaeda.

“We sent a number of brothers to Russia and Britain,” the letter read, according to federal prosecutor Zainab Ahmad.

Mr Naseer was one of 12 people arrested in Britain in 2009 amid suspicions they were members of an al-Qaeda-backed terror cell. After no explosives were found, the men were released without being charged but ordered to leave the country. Mr Naseer was eventually deported to the US two years ago.

On Tuesday, the agents had testified how they carried out surveillance operations on suspects to whom they had given the codenames - Small Panel, Glass Pendant, Happy Skater and Regional Difference. Small Panel was the name given to Mr Naseer.

Mr Naseer has been handling his own defence with the assistance of a court-appointed lawyer. He intends to put himself in the dock and testify on his own behalf.