Aspiring terrorist who went paintballing to train for jihad is jailed in UK

An aspiring terrorist fighter in England who trained for jihad in Syria with paintballing and gym sessions has been jailed.

Ahmedeltigani Alsyed was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court today to four-and-a-half years imprisonment, the Metropolitan Police said.

The 20-year-old, from Hounslow, west London, previously pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts between November 2016 and February 2017.

He was also convicted of disseminating terrorist material, including execution videos and bomb-making guides, and possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or planning acts of terrorism.

The Sudan-born extremist was a member of a secret chat group planning to fight alongside terror groups in Syria while also building his strength at the gym.

His brother Yousif Alsyed, 18, pleaded guilty to preparing terrorist acts and disseminating a terrorist publication, but will face sentencing at a later date.

The pair joined their cousins for a paintballing session at Blind Fire in Surrey as part of their training.

Commander Clarke Jarrett, of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "The evidence we recovered showed the clear intent of the Alsyed brothers to go to Syria, where they would join Daesh.

"It is patent to me that their intention, once they had joined the terrorist group, was to fight alongside it as the brothers had invested time in training in the UK, including spending time at a paintballing camp and joining a gym.

"The brothers shared with each other gory videos and images glorifying Daesh.

"They had their hearts set on joining their fight but our investigation stopped them."

Their plan was foiled when the younger of the two was referred to police by his school and they were arrested at Heathrow Airport after returning on a flight from Egypt in August 2016.

Commander Jarrett added: "If anyone has suspicions about someone who is behaving oddly, sending messages that seem extreme or anything else that strikes them as not quite right, please act on your instinct and report it to police."

- PA