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Two convicted over moped drive-by London terror plot Two convicted over moped drive-by London terror plot
(about 1 hour later)
Two Britons have been convicted of an Islamic State-inspired plot to carry out drive-by murders on the streets of London. Two university students have been convicted of wanting to kill on London’s streets in the name of Islamic State in what counter-terrorism officials believe was the most significant jihadi plot targeting Britain in a decade.
Counter-terrorism officials believe police or soldiers were the intended targets of the conspiracy, in which the two plotters, who were university students, threw away glittering careers to pursue violent jihad. Police, soldiers and civilians were the intended targets of the conspiracy, with a moped being used to stage drive-by killings after the terrorists had gained a gun, silencer and ammunition from a London-based criminal.
Ringleader Tarik Hassane, 22, pleaded guilty to having directed others in the plot through encrypted social media programs, while he was a medical student.
His friend Suhaib Majeed, 21, a physics student at King’s College London and a prize-winning maths student, was convicted of the plot by a jury at the Old Bailey. Both were born and raised in west London and friends from Westminster City school. They were lured by extremist Islamist online propaganda and personal contacts to throw away glittering futures.
Hassane is suspected of associating with Mohammed Emwazi, who gained worldwide notoriety as Isis’s “Jihadi John”. They grew up in the same area and went to the same mosque in west London.
There was a five-year age difference between Hassane and Emwazi, and on social media Hassane wrote about the influence of older people he met at the mosque, when he was aged 16. He said he “met some good older practising bros. Started hanging around with them …”
The Guardian understands Hassane is also believed by investigators to have visited Isis-controlled territory in Syria and pledged allegiance to the terrorist group in July 2014.
In encrypted messages the group had called itself “the turnup terror squad” and the plotters were spurred on by a September 2014 fatwa from Isis urging “its supporters to kill disbelievers in the west”. The effects of that have since been felt in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere.
Investigators believe the plotters led by Hassane were in contact and receiving directions from Isis in Syria in encrypted communications via social media platforms.
Hassane was known as “the surgeon” and communicated with other plotters via the encrypted messaging services Telegram and Pidgin, using a mixture of Arabic and London street slang.
They also used a suite of encryption tools developed by jihadis known as Asrar al-Mujahideen (Secrets of the Mujahideen), which was developed by al-Qaida.
Majeed was captured by a surveillance officer inRegent’s Park. London, while communicating with the Isis contact, who was telling him how to install layers of encryption on a laptop.
Two other men were convicted of firearms offences, for sourcing and supplying the firearm. But Nyall Hamlett, 25, and Nathan Cuffy, 26, were acquitted of involvement in the terror plot or knowing what Majeed or Hassane were really intending.
Cuffy was found with other firearms and both he and Hamlett are facing significant jail terms for the firearms offences.
Commander Dean Haydon, Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism, said: “This is an elevation of complexity … committing a drive-by shooting, acquiring a firearm, silencer and ammunition, in broad daylight targeting police, military and members of the public before making their getaway.”
In early 2014 Hassane’s extremism was clear in his writings on a social media platform called AskFM.
He praised Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, said by the US to be one of the most influential jihadi theorists, and there are frequent mentions of the writings and YouTube videos of Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical cleric linked to multiple terrorist plots against Britain and the US, who was killed in a drone strike.
Hassane praised Osama bin Laden as a martyr, writing: “He’s a big mujahid. May Allah accept him as a shaheed [martyr] ameen.”
He also wrote: “Muslims shouldn’t be in the UK in the first place,” and that “democracy is kufr”, and agreed it was obligatory to go to Syria.
By 2013 Hassane was a medical student in Khartoum, Sudan, at a university targeted by Islamist extremists.
The Islamic Cultural Association there was taken over by a British extremist, Mohammed Fakhri, in 2013 and other students became radicalised. Fakhri fled to join Isis, and 17 other British medical students also skipped their studies to join the nascent “caliphate”.
The plot to attack London was stopped by a joint operation by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command and Britain’s domestic and foreign intelligence services.
Related: Moped plot students threw away promising future in pursuit of jihadRelated: Moped plot students threw away promising future in pursuit of jihad
The Guardian understands that ringleader Tarik Hassane, 22, is believed to have visited Isis-controlled territory in Syria, and the plot is also believed to have been aided by someone overseas.
Hassane is suspected of at one time associating with Mohammed Emwazi, who gained worldwide notoriety as Isis’s “Jihadi John”. They grew up in the same area of London, and went to the same mosque in west London.
Officials believe Hassane’s plans were the most significant terrorist plot in Britain for nearly a decade.
The convictions come after a trial at the Old Bailey in central London.
Midway through the trial Hassane pleaded guilty to having directed others in the plot through encrypted social media programs, while a medical student in Khartoum, Sudan.
His friend Suhaib Majeed, 21, was also convicted of the plot, in which he took part while studying at a London university.
The four on trial, all from west London, were British citizens. Knowledge of the criminal world in west London was used to get a gun, silencer and ammunition.
Two men, Nyall Hamlett, 25, and Nathan Cuffy, 26, were acquitted of involvement in the terror plot or knowing what Majeed or Hassane were really intending. But they were convicted of firearms offences.
The prosecution had said that Hamlett, 25, was tasked with finding a gun for the attack on Britain, which he acquired from Nathan Cuffy, 26, whom police found with several other weapons.
Cuffy denied knowing the gun was for terrorist purposes but provided the weapon and seven rounds of ammunition plus a silencer, the jury heard.
Hassane had pledged allegiance to Isis in July 2014. The plotters were spurred on by a September 2014 message from Isis urging “its supporters to kill disbelievers in the west”.
There was a five-year age difference between Hassane and Emwazi. Hassane wrote about the influence of the people he met at the mosque, when he was aged 16. He said he “met some good older practicing bros. Started hanging around with them …”
Police declined to comment on any link but the Ladbroke Grove area in west London has been home to a number of Britons who fled to Syria to join Isis and was also home to the terrorists behind attempts to bomb London on 21 July 2005.
Investigators believe the plotters led by Hassane were in contact and receiving directions from extremists oversees in Syria via encrypted communications via social media platforms.
Hassane left his London home in 2013 and studied at a Khartoum medical school targeted by Islamist extremists.
The Islamic Cultural Association there was taken over by a British extremist, Mohammed Fakhri, in 2013. Other students became radicalised, Fakhri himself fled to join Isis, and 17 other British medical students also skipped their studies to join the nascent “caliphate”.
The plot to attack London was stopped by a joint operation by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, and Britain’s domestic and foreign intelligence services.
The first arrests came one day after the plotters took possession of the firearm, bullets and silencer in late September 2014. They were also trying to get money to buy a moped, which they would use to ride around west London to attack their targets.The first arrests came one day after the plotters took possession of the firearm, bullets and silencer in late September 2014. They were also trying to get money to buy a moped, which they would use to ride around west London to attack their targets.
These are believed to be Shepherd’s Bush police station and a Territorial Army barracks in White City, both in west London. They were reconnoitred by Hassane using Google Street View. These are believed to have been Shepherd’s Bush police station and a Territorial Army barracks in White City, both in west London. They were reconnoitred by Hassane using Google Street View.
After his co-conspirators were arrested, Hassane still came back to London from Sudan, determined to carry out the attack. After his co-conspirators were arrested, Hassane still came back to London from Sudan, determined to carry out the attack, and was arrested in October 2014.
He was being watched by police and security services as he entered Britain on a flight. Isis intended Hassane to lead marauding armed terrorists to attack London weeks before the January 2015 atrocities in Paris. Haydon said: “It does draw parallels with Paris. The attackers were intent on murder, intent on using a firearm, intent on causing fear, distress, disorder in a particular part of west London.”
Hassane was known as “the surgeon” and the group of Britons communicated via the encrypted messaging services Telegram and Pidgin, using a mixture of Arabic and London street slang.
They also used a suite of encryption tools developed by jihadis known as Asrar Mujahideen (Secrets of the Mujahideen), which was first developed by al-Qaida.
Hassane was friends with Majeed, a physics student at King’s College London, whom he directed from Sudan. The two had met at Westminster City school.
Hassane wrote on social media in 2013 that he was offered a place to study biomedicine at King’s College London. He instead decided to study in Sudan, starting a four-year course in 2013.
In 2013 he was a regular social media user. Writing on an Ask.fm page, Hassane suggested that he preferred to study in Sudan but said he planned to return to London during the holidays and to seek a placement at a hospital when he graduated. He also wrote a tweet: “oi lads I smell war”, which is believed to have referred to a spat between men and women he knew.
Friends of Hassane and Mujeed say they had no idea they had been lured by extremism, and that while teenagers they had been opposed to violence.
The terrorist plotters will be sentenced at a later date, and face decades in prison.