Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I’ll blow up St Paul’s
Isis-supporting Muslim convert planned suicide bomb attack at Christmas time
A SUPPORTER of Islamic State admitted plotting a suicide bomb attack at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Safiyya Amira Shaikh, 36, planned two explosions, one at the place of worship and another at a nearby hotel in London.
The Muslim convert was foiled by an undercover police operation.
In an encrypted chat with an undercover officer, the defendant said that she would “rather die young and get to Jannah (paradise) quickest way”.
She said: “I always knows I wanted to do something big... killing one kafir (infidel) is not enough.”
Shaikh expressed a desire to target a church or somewhere “historical” on a day like Christmas or Easter to “kill more”, a case summary said.
It was alleged the British defendant, who was born Michelle Ramsden to a non-muslim family and converted to Islam in 2007, became radicalised after following online extremists.
Yesterday she admitted the preparation of terrorist acts and dissemination of terrorist publications.
The Old Bailey heard Shaikh, from Hayes, West London, carried out research between August and October last year. And she contacted people she believed could help with her plot, unaware they were police officers.
According to a prosecution case summary, Shaikh said her aim was to kill as many people as possible in an attack on the cathedral. Shaikh travelled to the capital where she stayed at a hotel as part of her reconnaissance and checked security arrangements at St Paul’s.
She also prepared the words of a pledge of allegiance to Islamic State and shared terrorist propaganda using the Telegram messaging app.
In September last year, she revealed her plan to stay in a hotel near St Paul’s then check out the cathedral and “take photos like a tourist”.
In a police interview, she admitted posting extremist material and the plot, although she said she may not have gone through with it. Shaikh, who wore a black robe in the dock, was remanded in custody before sentencing on May 11.