Youth ‘wanted to copy London Bridge attack with hunting knife’
A TEENAGER plotted to copy the London Bridge and Westminster attacks by carrying out a knife rampage, a court heard.
Sixth-former Haider Ahmed, 19, was supplied with a hunting knife by Imadul Karim, 2 , and he told Islamic State sympathisers he would carry out an atrocity in the capital as soon as possible, it is claimed.
Then aged 17, Ahmed was living with his parents when he allegedly planned a robbery to fund his journey to the Middle East to fight for the extremist caliphate.
Ben Lloyd QC, prosecuting, said: ‘This is a case about the purchase and supply of a large hunting knife. The purchaser of that knife was Haider Ahmed, despite his young age the evidence reveals he is a loyal supporter of IS.’ He said Ahmed is ‘a young man with a radicalised, dangerous and entrenched mind who was in contact with others of a similar mindset in other countries’.
Mr Lloyd told Kingston Crown Court in south-west London: ‘The supplier and seller was Imadul Karim. Whilst he is slightly older
than Mr Ahmed, he appears to have been a supporter of IS or if not a supporter himself, he at least had a keen interest in IS. Mr Karim was more than happy to sell the large hunting knife to Mr Ahmed.
‘He purchased the large hunting knife to enable him to use it for terrorist purposes.
‘You will be aware of the other attacks on the streets of London and elsewhere in the world in 201 , 2016, and 2017 by knife-wielding IS supporting terrorists.
‘Mr Ahmed was, the prosecution say, no different to those individuals, he would have been willing to die for the cause.’ Ahmed admits sending users of the secretive social media network Telegram a horrifying execution video.
The images Ahmed sent appear to come from a video showing a man in an orange jump suit.
Mr Lloyd said: ‘In the later images the man is on his knees whilst another man puts a blue rope around the first man’s neck.
‘The final image shows the man’s head exploding.’
Ahmed, of Redhill, Surrey, denies preparing acts of terrorism between July 2016 and July 2017.
Karim, of Streatham, south London, denies funding terrorism by supplying the knife to Ahmed.
The trial, which is due to last two weeks, continues.