IS recruiter faces jail for helping terrorists
A BIRMINGHAM Islamic State recruiter who helped two British would-be jihadis in their attempt to join fighters in Syria faces years behind bars.
Awat Hamasalih, 35, came to the UK in 2002, became a British citizen six years later, then went on to campaign for IS from his home in Kingstanding.
The Iraqi Kurd helped the terror group through speeches, social media, crowd-funding and even tipping off an IS commander in Iraq of imminent attack.
Hamasalih was also found in possession of a document containing information about the identities of Peshmerga fighters resisting IS expansion.
He admitted being a supporter of IS but said he was not a member.
But the Old Bailey jury found Hamasalih, of Finchley Road, guilty of IS membership and possessing documents likely to be useful to the terror group.
He will be sentenced this week.
Jurors were told how he helped two would-be jihadis as they prepared to travel to Syria. In May last year, Shivan Azeez Zangana was arrested at the al Noor mosque in Birmingham and Aras Hamid was detained en route to Dover as he hid in the back of a lorry. Hamasalih raised funds for IS through appeals and was able to deliver the donations covertly. He spread IS propaganda through his prolific posts on social media and made speeches to persuade others to support his cause. He had direct contact through Skype with an IS commander and gave him military intelligence on a forthcoming operation. In September 2014, he revealed to commander Khattab Al-Kurdi that the Peshmarga forces were preparing to attack Mosul in northern Iraq. The court heard that Hamasalih obtained documents containing the personal details of Peshmerga military personnel, the force working to safeguard Iraqi Kurdistan from invading IS forces.
They were uncovered when his devices were examined on his return to the UK from a stay in Finland in December 2014.
He was stopped again in March 2015 when he travelled through the Channel Tunnel and his phone revealed his support for IS.
Then in November 2015 he was arrested and police searched his Birmingham home and seized more electronic devices.