Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Islamists who walk among us. They just want to make a difference.

Dramatic moment anti-terror police arrested medical student dubbed The Surgeon over alleged ISIS-plot to attack Britain – in a flat just yards from scene of raid on 21/7 bombers


  • Tarik Hassane, known as 'The Surgeon', arrested in west London yesterday
  • Hours before he was held on Monday he tweeted: 'Oi lad... I smell war' 
  • He was held a street away from the 21/7 bombers. There is no link 
  • Three other suspects held across capital on suspicion of terrorism offences
  • Their properties and vehicles also being searched as part of investigation 
  • Scotland Yard said the raids were linked to 'Islamist related terrorism'

This is the moment a trainee doctor dubbed 'The Surgeon' was arrested on suspicion of planning an Islamic State-related murder plot in London - just a street away from the 2005 raid on the 21/7 bombers.
Neighbours photographed Tarik Hassane, 21, being taken away by police and MI5 officers who swooped on a flat in Dalgarno Gardens, Ladbrooke Grove, West London, yesterday morning.
Officers kicked in the property's door, threw in three stun grenades and then Tasered Hassane before arresting him at 4.30am. 
His arrest will shock the community which nine years ago witnessed 21/7 bombers Muktar Said Ibrahim and Ramzi Mohammed emerging from a flat in neighbouring Delgarno Way.
Their rucksack bombs failed to detonate on the London Tube and bus network and the terrorists were forced to surrender in their underpants after they were surrounded following a week on the run.
There is no suggestion of any links between the 21/7 plot and the suspect held yesterday because Hassane was arrested while staying with a relative after his recent return from medical school in Khartoum, Sudan. 
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Operation: Police and MI5 stormed the flat where Tarik Hassane was staying, throwing in stun grenades, before arresting a terror suspect
Operation: Police and MI5 stormed the flat where Tarik Hassane was staying, throwing in stun grenades, before arresting a terror suspect
First picture: This is Tarik Hassane, who tweeted this picture of his ID card from medical school in Sudan
First picture: This is Tarik Hassane, who tweeted this picture of his ID card from medical school in Sudan
Geography: Hassane's arrest was a street away from where two of the 21/7 bombers were held in 2005. There is no suggestion of any link between the two 
Geography: Hassane's arrest was a street away from where two of the 21/7 bombers were held in 2005. There is no suggestion of any link between the two 
It was revealed today that Hassane had tweeted: 'Oi lads... I smell war' shortly before he was arrested.
The medical student is believed to be among four men in their early 20s from London held by Scotland Yard and the security services.
Officials swooped amid heightened fears that fanatics who have returned from Syria are planning a high-profile gun attack or a beheading. 
Hassane is nicknamed 'The Surgeon' because he is training to become a doctor and was arrested by armed police who rushed his aunt's flat in North Kensington. 
Father-of-three Michael Mwangaa, 32, described seeing a heavy police presence around Princess Alice House on Tuesday morning in the hours after MI5 agents swooped on the council estate.
He said: 'I heard two or three loud bangs morning at around 5am, but I thought it could have been a gun - I didn't want to go out and have a look.
'Then when I was taking my two eldest kids to school we came out and saw all of the police. There was a van full of officers in uniforms, and a lot of undercover cops.
'They were coming in and out of the estate. A few had bags with them, but they were keeping a low profile.
'When I found out it was Tarik I was shocked. I couldn't believe he would want to do something like this'.
Police are seen escorting the suspect away after he was Tasered. He was uninjured, Scotland Yard said
Police are seen escorting the suspect away after he was Tasered. He was uninjured, Scotland Yard said
Raid: Counter-terrorism officers carry belongings from the flat raided where 'The Surgeon' Tarik Hassane was arrested yesterday
Police smashed down the door and threw in stun grenades as they held four young men in separate raids yesterday
Police smashed down the door and threw in stun grenades as they held four young men in separate raids yesterday
Arrest: Medical student Tarik Hassane was Tasered and arrested at a flat in Princess Alice House in west London yesterday, the damaged door can be seen on the right side of the first floor
Arrest: Medical student Tarik Hassane was Tasered and arrested at a flat in Princess Alice House in west London yesterday, the damaged door can be seen on the right side of the first floor
Hassane had hoped to study at Kings College hospital in London but failed to get the grades, he admitted online. 
Rather than accepting an offer to do biomedicine he decided to become a medical student in Khartoum Sudan checking with the General Medical Council that the qualifications would be accepted in the UK.
On Twitter he posted pictures of his medical text books and said: 'This makes A Levels look like a joke. 
In one post he denied rejecting Kings because it was kufr, a slur meaning non-Islamic.
He says: 'Got an offer from Kings to do medicine, missed out by a couple grades.
'Had the choice of doing biomed but that don't fit in my future plans. Very close friend of mine already completed his first year in Sudan. Checked the uni with the 'General Medical Council' and they said a degree from their (sic) is recognised in the uk. So still get to study medicine + it's recognised world wide + in a Muslim country.'
Drama: 21/7 bombers Muktar Said Ibrahim, left, and Ramzi Mohammed, right, emerge from their hideout in their underpants. They were later jailed for life
Drama: 21/7 bombers Muktar Said Ibrahim, left, and Ramzi Mohammed, right, emerge from their hideout in their underpants. They were later jailed for life
Arrests: Scotland Yard has held four men in London over alleged terrorism offences
Arrests: Scotland Yard has held four men in London over alleged terrorism offences
He also disapproves of women wearing make-up.
In another post he says: 'Wearing make up outside of the home such as foundation/lip stick etc isn't really permissible. And it's better that sisters avoid these things.
'Covering up has been enjoined upon women for a reason (I.e covering their beauty except for their husbands/in front of their mahrams) so wearing make up kind of defeats the purpose of hijab. 
Senior sources said one of the four men was a suspected jihadist, who had recently returned to the UK from Syria.
The Metropolitan Police said the men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Sources said the planning was at an early stage but public safety had been paramount in the decision to act. 
Last month, raids were conducted throughout Australia amid intelligence that IS were planning 'demonstration killings' there, reportedly including a public beheading.
Britain already has terrible experience of such an attack, although the two Islamist maniacs who beheaded Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks last year were not linked to Syria.
The raids in Ladbroke Grove come at a time when police activity is at its highest level since the July 7 bombings in 2005.
Officers said one suspect had to be shot with a Taser during the arrests, but did not require medical treatment
Officers said one suspect had to be shot with a Taser during the arrests, but did not require medical treatment
Officials are particularly worried by the prospect of a so-called 'lone wolf attack', which requires little planning and could be carried out with a knife or firearm.
Police have stepped up armed patrols and searches, while specialist officers have been visiting extremist sympathisers and those who have been to Syria.
An Islamic State video released online last week urged fanatics in the UK to strike.
It showed a British jihadist, believed to be Omar Hussein, a former security guard at a Morrisons supermarket, calling on 'all the brothers in the UK' to rise up. 
The militant urged fellow Muslims to travel to Syria and Iraq to join the extremist group in its self-proclaimed caliphate.
For those who cannot make the journey, Hussein said: 'You can cause terror right from within.'
Security services and politicians have long warned of the prospect of an IS plot here.
Earlier this year, David Cameron said: 'The people in that regime, as well as trying to take territory, are also planning to attack us here at home.' 
 In August, the threat was raised from substantial to severe – meaning that an attack is highly likely. 
One case, which is due to be heard this month and is subject to reporting restrictions, involves two men who have been charged with planning terrorist offences in this country.
Other alleged plots have been uncovered in France, Italy and the Netherlands.
In May, Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who had fought with IS in Syria, was arrested after three people were shot dead in a Jewish museum in Brussels. Police said he had in his possession a Kalashnikov rifle, a handgun and a sheet emblazoned with IS logos.
News of the raids comes after terrorist Omar Hussain, a former Morrisons worker, last week urged British Islamists to launch attacks
News of the raids comes after terrorist Omar Hussain, a former Morrisons worker, last week urged British Islamists to launch attacks
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg yesterday said he offered to negotiate with IS to free Alan Henning - but the foreign office turned him down. Mr Begg suggested he knew the terrorists. 
In response, the Prime Minister said: 'We are very happy to work with anybody. My understanding is that Moazzam Begg did make some appeals, sadly, as we know, those appeals fell on deaf ears . . . 
'But if Moazzam Begg has information to provide about who these people are, he should provide it.'
Mr Begg is a controversial figure who, until last week, was awaiting trial on seven terror charges relating to Syria. The case against him was dropped after new intelligence from MI5. 
In yesterday's interview, on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, he declined to say he wished for the destruction of IS – but insisted he could have helped in the case of Mr Henning. 


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