Glasgow terror recruit ‘set for home attack’
Warning after reporters glean IS details on internet
SCOTS have been warned to be on their guard as Police Scotland investigate reports that a woman in Glasgow is poised to commit a terrorist attack.
The claim was uncovered by a team of investigative journalists who used fake identities to interact with Islamic State (IS) recruiters on the internet.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson, of the Organised Crime, Counter Terrorism and Safer Communities department, said that the reports were being taken seriously and that communities should remain alert for any suspicious activity.
The identity of the Scottish IS supporter has not been revealed, but the case bears similarities with that of former private schoolgirl Aqsa Mahmood, also from Glasgow, who is believed to have been radicalised through online contact.
Over a four-month period the team, led by Sky News, invented a male and female character and made contact with IS recruiters using Twitter, before moving to anonymous online messaging services. It led them to a married couple, who claimed they were both from Britain and living in Raqqa, Syria, the capital of IS-held territory. Through the communication it was found that a 21-year-old, originally from Kent, recruits women and girls from Britain.
The investigators claimed she sent a bomb-making manual to the team’s female character via a secure-sharing site and told them she had another girl in Glasgow ready to attack.
The team said she mentioned the Royal Family and August 15 – the date of the VJ commemorations in London. She also told the character that two other girls had been recruited but had failed to carry out a promised attack.
There is now a fear that terrorist recruiters are now insisting their targets stay in their home countries and plot to carry out attacks rather than join them in the Middle East.
ACC Nicolson said: “Police Scotland is working with The Metropolitan Police following media reporting about potential terrorist activity in the United Kingdom. The threat level in the UK remains at ‘severe’ which means an attack is highly likely.
“Against that backdrop Police Scotland constantly assesses and reviews its response to the threat from terrorism with policing opera- tions being shaped appropriately and based on the latest intelligence.”
He added: “The latest media reporting has been included within our day-to-day considerations. I would like to reassure the public that we are working closely with our security partners and we remain alert to all terrorist threats that may manifest here or where individuals overseas may seek to direct or inspire others to commit attacks in and against the UK.
“I would ask that communities remain alert for any suspicious activity and report it to the police so we can take the appropriate action required.
“Through the excellent relationship we have with the diverse communities across the country, Police Scotland and our partners remain committed to reducing the risk associated with people becoming involved in, or supporting terrorist or extremist behaviour.”
Ali Khan, executive chairman of Roshni which supports ethnic minority communities, said there needed to be a “major and ongoing social media campaign” to counter the messages from IS. He said it was not surprising that people from Glasgow could be the targets of recruiters. He added: “With regards to there being young people from Glasgow, why would Glasgow be any different from any other part of Scotland or UK?
“Unfortunately there are young vulnerable perhaps misguided young people all over UK who are seen as targets to be manipulated.”