Britain’s youngest terrorist faces jail
Hammaad Munshi, just 16 and taking GCSEs when arrested, was part of a cell of cyber groomers devoted to brainwashing the vulnerable into killing “non-believers”.
The teenager, whose grandfather is a leading Islamic scholar, led a double life, attending lessons by day and surfing jihadist websites at night.
Blackfriars Crown Court heard the youngster, part of a “worldwide conspiracy” to “wipe out” non-Muslims, downloaded instructions about making napalm, other explosives, detonators, and grenades, and “how to kill”.
He then sent them to his mentor, “terrorist facilitator” Aabid Khan — one of Britain’s “key players” in radicalising the impressionable and vulnerable — and fellow cell member Sultan Muhammad.
They were also convicted yesterday.
Detective chief superintendent John Parkinson, head of Leeds Counter Terrorism Unit, branded the trio “dangerous”, while Home Secretary Jacqui Smith condemned them as a “real threat”.
She said: “The actions of the guilty men were not those of curious individuals. They were the actions of people who sought to influence and recruit vulnerable and impressionable individuals for terrorist purposes.”
The court heard Munshi, just 15 when recruited to “violent jihad”, was desperate to go abroad and fight. Khan, 23, did his best to help. They had long internet chats and discussed how Munshi might smuggle a sword past airport security.
The teenager, the cell’s computer specialist, was just 12 when lured by the online world of Islamic extremists. He ran a website selling hunting knives and Islamic flags, and had the on-line profile “fidadee”, Arabic for a “person ready to sacrifice themselves for a particular cause”.
There were even two bags of ball-bearings — the shrapnel of choice for suicide bombers — in his pockets when he was detained.
Khan and Muhammad will be sentenced today.
Munshi was remanded in custody and will be dealt with next month.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
