Manchester Arena bomber’s friend found guilty of being Islamic State sniper
From Sky News, The Times and the Daily Mail
A close friend of the Manchester bomber has been found guilty of being an Islamic State sniper after he was identified in official IS documents obtained by Sky News. Mohammed Abdallah, 26, from Manchester, travelled to Syria with three friends in July 2014. . . with help from his disabled brother Abdalraouf, 24, who came to the UK for NHS treatment and then set up a “communications hub” for Muslim extremists… directed them from the family home in Moss Side, south Manchester.
Abdalraouf was given a wheelchair and treated at central Manchester University Hospital at vast expense to the taxpayer. The paraplegic jihadi then acted as an Isis recruiter, using Skype and encrypted messaging apps to help terrorists source guns and cash and get from the UK to Syria undetected.
Mohammed Abdallah was convicted today of possessing an AK47 gun, receiving £2,000 for terrorism and membership of Isis.
The Abdallah brothers were friends with Salman Abedi, 22, who killed 22 people when he blew himself up in May after a pop concert at the Manchester Arena.
The Old Bailey heard that Abdallah was known to the authorities after Sky News obtained thousands of documents containing names, addresses and contact details of registered IS fighters. Abdallah’s form was one of thousands of files passed on to counter-terrorism officers at Scotland Yard, and was the primary evidence used to convict him. It was the first prosecution of its kind. During Mohammed Abdallah’s three-week trial, jurors were shown an IS registration form containing his name, nickname, date of birth and nationality and previous experience which all matched. One of the ISIS records, branded with the terror group’s black flag, had details about Abdallah’s ‘previous Jihadi experience’ and his ability to use heavy machine guns.
The trial heard that the Abdallah brothers learned their fighting skills when they fought for anti-Gaddafi forces in the 2011 Libyan uprising. The younger of the Abdallahs – Abdalraouf – was shot and paralysed fighting in the conflict.The battle-hardened brothers hatched a plan with their friends upon their return to Manchester to join IS.
As part of his trip to Syria, Mohammed Abdallah had to get his father Nagah, 50, to send him £2,000, which he picked up from a hotel in Istanbul. His father was arrested as part of the investigation but released without charge.
He refused to answer questions when asked about his sons’ crimes by a reporter for Sky News.
Mrs Justice McGowan adjourned sentence until tomorrow.