London
Bridge terrorist Usman Khan- 26/11 Mumbai and violent Kashmir dreams
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility
for a stabbing attack
December 01, 2019 07:12 IST
A
convicted Islamist terrorist, who spent part of his teens in Pakistan and
released last year from a UK prison, was suspected to be the man who stabbed
two people to death in a terror attack on London Bridge. Two people
were killed and several others injured in the London Bridge attack on Friday.
The Scotland Yard had confirmed that a male suspect wearing a hoax bomb vest
was shot dead at the scene. Police had identified the suspect as 28-year-old
Usman Khan, inspired by the ideology of al-Qaeda terror group, was previously
sentenced to 16 years in prison term for his role in the London Stock Exchange
bombing in 1990.
But, who was the
terrorist? According to The Telegraph, at
the time of his sentencing in 2012, the judge warned that he was a
"serious jihadist" who should not be released while he remained a
threat to the public. Khan left school with no qualifications after spending
part of his late teens in Pakistan, where he lived with his mother when she
became ill, it said. The BBC reported that Khan was out on licence from
prison when he killed two people and injured three others in the stabbing attack on Friday, before he
was shot dead by the Scotland Yard. Khan was living in Stafford
since being released from prison on December last, the report noted. At
19, he was the youngest of a group of four men from Stoke-on-Trent who took an
active part in the local branch of al-Mujahiroun—a militant Salafi outfit that
counted radical preacher Anjem Choudary among its ranks, the Times of India reported.
In
February 2012, Khan was sentenced to eight years in prison. In 2013, the Court
of Appeal sentenced him to a 16-year jail term after he was allegedly caught
planning a terror strike. A 2012 judgment by a UK court bares out further
details of his radicalisation. According to the judgment, Khan "fundraised
for their plans to establish and recruit for a terrorist military training facility
under the cover of a madrassa on land owned by Usman Khan’s family [supposedly
in PoK]". And, this was a plan Khan took seriously. He, and others, wanted
a "more long term and sustained path, to establish and operate that
terrorist military training facility, at which Khan would train, which would
make them, and others whom they would recruit to be trained there, more serious
and effective terrorists." The document also noted that "they would
initially operate in Kashmir [unclear whether Jammu and Kashmir or PoK], but
later may return to the UK and may commit acts of terror in this
jurisdiction."
The judgment goes: "First, they were trying to raise funds to build a madrassa beside
an already existing mosque in Kashmir. Second, the long term plan
included making the madrassas available for men who would be fighting to bring
sharia to Kashmir in Pakistan. Third, the plan included fire arms training in
or around the madrassa. Fourth, they did not intend to participate in an act of
terrorism in the UK in the immediate future."
He and
two other co-conspirators had conducted a surveillance trip around central
London as they talked about launching a Mumbai-style attack on UK Parliament.
The then-20-year-old pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct for the preparation
of terrorism, which included travelling to and attending operational meetings,
fundraising for terrorist training, preparing to travel abroad and assisting
others in travelling abroad. "It was envisaged by them all that ultimately
they and the other recruits may return to the UK as trained and experienced
terrorists available to perform terrorist attacks in this country,"
Justice Alan Wilkie had noted during the sentencing hearing.They planned
"sending letter bombs through the post, attacking pubs used by British
racist groups, attacking a high profile target with an explosive device and a
'Mumbai' [26/11] style attack by terrorists".
On
Saturday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack.
"The person who carried out the London attack... was a fighter from the
Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition
countries," IS said, referring to a multi-country alliance against the
group.
British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was then London Mayor, was on a hit-list
found on Khan at the time of his arrest in 2012. Speaking before chairing a
meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, Johnson said it is very
important to break the "habit" of allowing serious and violent
criminals to come out of prison early and "enforce the appropriate
sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists". UK home secretary
Priti Patel, who had recently unveiled plans for tougher sentences for violent
criminals, said the police needed "space and time" to complete the
investigation and that it was not right to "speculate". "We're
supporting the police through this very difficult investigation. I think it's
fair to say we're all shocked and saddened," the Indian-origin minister
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment