The RAF drone busters
WESTMINSTER terrorist Khalid Masood took steroids before he mowed down four pedestrians and stabbed a policeman to death.
The 52-year-old was shot dead by police after his rampage last March.
A pre- inquest hearing was told steroids were found in a urine sample taken from the killer’s body. A submis s i o n by Jonathan Hough QC, assisting the coroner, read: “A urine sample from Khalid Masood provided evidence of anabolic steroids having been taken in the hours or days prior to his death.
“A more specialist pharmac e u t i c a l toxicologist has been instructed to prepare a report on how steroid use may have affected him.”
Masood ploughed his car into pedestrians on a packed Westminster Bridge, killing American Kurt Cochran, 54, retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, 31.
He then murdered PC Keith Palmer, 48, in the grounds of Parliament. RAF Reaper drones have killed more than a dozen Islamic State fighters trying to launch their own unmanned drone attacks over the past week.
The jihadis were hit in eastern Syria as coalition forces drive IS from boltholes following the fall of Raqqa.
It is the first time the RAF has targeted IS drone operators, who have murdered scores of victims in the past year. On Thursday, in the first of three strikes, an Masood, who grew up in Kent, used WhatsApp to view Jihadi material.
The families of his victims questioned why such apps need end- to- end encryption. Gareth Patterson, QC, representing the relatives, told the Old Bailey hearing: “Why it is radicalisation material continues to be freely available on the internet, we don’t understand.
“We do not understand why it is necessary for WhatsApp and Telegram to have end- to- end encryption.”
Mr Patterson also called for the inquest to look into security at Parliament and how Masood was able to get into the grounds. And he wants it to examine why PC Palmer had “inadequate body protection” and was “apparently stationed alone”. The inquest will examine Masood’s personal history, his planning, movements and dealings with others before the attack.
An inquest into the deaths of the victims will be heard before Chief Coroner Mark Lucraft at the Old Bailey in September. Masood’s hearing is to follow immediately afterwards.
Aftermath in Parliament
RAF Reaper hit an ISIS fighter trying to strike coalition forces with a drone armed with a bomb.
On Saturday another strike wiped out a jihadi drone team with a Hellfire missile. Then on Sunday an RAF Reaper fired a Hellfire through a window to incinerate more IS fighters.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The work our brave Armed Forces do is paramount to our security.”