ISIL recruiters tried to recruit UK-based supporters through social media to carry out an attack on London Bridge a year before extremists killed eight people using knives and a van as a deadly weapon, according to a two-year investigation.
The UK’s security services were made aware from 2015 that undercover journalists had been in touch with Syrian-based recruiters who urged them to strike at the “heart of the crusader army,” according to the BBC’s Inside Out investigation.
The recruiters first named London Bridge as a target in the summer of 2016 during a series of conversations with a researcher that they believed to be a 17-year-old still living with his parents.
The group had been using Facebook and Twitter in July 2016 to recruit British Muslims before continuing more detailed discussions on WhatsApp, Telegram and Surespot about attacking specific locations in London.
“The power and information is all with the terrorists and extremists who have at their disposal now encrypted apps that allow them to talk amongst each other around the world very little coverage by the intelligence agencies whatsoever,” said Richard Walton, the former head of counter-terrorism for London.
The recruiter advised the journalist to use a “truck, axe, anything can work” in the proposed attack on London Bridge. He gave him the option of doing it alone or as part of a team.
“But I don’t want to be wasted and kuffar catch me,” the journalist wrote.
“We will remember your work Inshallah,” the recruiter – known only as “manager” – responded.
The same ISIL recruiter pointed the journalist to tutorials on the deep web showing how to use a vehicle to kill people, make fake suicide vests and using knives for most deadly impact.
The method bore close similarities to the attack later carried out by Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane, and Youssef Zaghba, in June 2017, on the bridge which left eight dead and 48 injured. They used a hired van to run down pedestrians, before running through a nearby market stabbing victims, before being shot dead by police.
The researchers were first in contact with notorious recruiter Junaid Hussain, born in the UK, via Twitter in 2015. With routes into Syria being blocked off to foreign fighters, Hussain asked the researcher if he wanted to do something in the UK, according to the messages released by the broadcaster.
“We hit them hard,” said Hussain in a series of messages. “We can train you, how to make bombs. Easy ticket to Jannah. May Allah punish, humiliate and destroy the kuffar via you.”
He promised to organise an attack on London but was killed in a US drone strike on the Syian city of Raqqa in 2015.
The television researcher was later contacted by other recruiters and had to complete a quick-fire test on basic tenets of Islam and perform other basic photographic and background checks.
After successfully passing the test, the recruiter suggested a plot to shoot a policeman, which bore similarities to the fatal shooting of a French policeman nine months later in an attack claimed by ISIL. He also mentioned Westminster Bridge as a target and said it would not have to be a complicated plan.
“If you succeed… it will be huge and damaging for them,” the recruiter said. “Kill a lot. The best way you can do is to kill normal people.”
Nine months later, Khalid Masood killed five people after driving at pedestrians along the pavement of the bridge and stabbing a policeman at the entrance of the Houses of Parliament. It was not known if the recruiter in touch with the journalist was later involved in attempts to persuade Masood to carry out the attack.
Encrypted communications were used between planners and the perpetrators of the Westminster and London Bridge attacks in 2017, Ben Wallace, the UK’s security minister, told the programme.
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Director: Jared Hess
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
