This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3727
November 28, 2008
The Mumbai Attacks: Previous Involvement by UK Citizens in Jihadist Terrorism Abroad
The Centre for Social Cohesion Press Release: 29 November, 2008
Latest news reports suggest that a number of British passport-holders were among those who carried out the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. If so, it would not be the first time that British men had perpetrated acts of jihadist terrorism abroad.
The following is a list of just some of those UK citizens who are known to have travelled abroad in recent years in order to carry out acts of terror:
*Sayyad al-Falistini, 18 year old Londoner killed after a failed suicide attack. Thought to be Britain's first attempted suicide bomber: Bosnia, 1995
*Khalid Shahid, from Birmingham, allegedly the first British suicide bomber: Afghanistan, 1996
*Shahid Butt, 33 year old from Birmingham, allegedly fought with the mujahideen: Bosnia, 1994. Convicted of planning a bombing campaign: Yemen, August 1999
*Malik Nasser Fadl Harhara, 26 year old from Birmingham, Ghulam Hussein, 25 year old from Luton, Sarmad Ahmad, 21 year old from Birmingham, Muhsin Ghailan, 18 year old from London, Shazad Nabi, 20 year old from Birmingham, Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, 17 year old from London and Ayad Hussein, 24 year old from Birmingham, all convicted of planning a bombing campaign: Yemen, August 1999.
*Bilal Ahmed, 25 year old from Birmingham, killed eight people in a suicide bomb attack: Kashmir, December 2000.
*Yasir Khan, 28 year old from Crawley, Afzal Munir and Aftab Manzoor, both 25 and from Luton, all killed allegedly fighting for the Taliban: Afghanistan, 2001. Reports at the time suggested up to 60 British men had gone to Afghanistan to "fight jihad".
*Omar Sheikh, 27 year old former London School of Economics student from East London convicted of the murder of the American journalist Daniel Pearl: Pakistan, 2002.
*Asif Mohammed Hanif, 21-year-old from West London and Omar Khan Sharif, his 27-year-old accomplice from Derby, killed three and wounded 65 in a suicide attack: Tel Aviv, Israel, April 2003
Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, says:
"Since the 1990s Britain has been one of the global centres of Islamist radicalisation. Successive governments have failed to stop those who preach hate and incite violence against anyone who falls outside of their radical interpretation of Islam. Events in Mumbai show that Britain's failure to crack down on extremists at home has once again had tragic and bloody repercussions abroad."
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This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3727