A jihadi with links to the Manchester Arena bomber has been jailed after trying to become an ISIS sniper before buying his way of the group because he ‘missed going to the cinema’.
Mohammed Abdallah and his brother Abdalraouf were at the centre of a Manchester-based terror network which included Salman Abedi, who killed 22 at the Ariana Grande concert this week.
It emerged during Mohammed’s trial that, though signing up for ISIS and claiming he wanted to be a ‘sniper’, he gave up after three weeks and is thought to have bought his way out.
Abdallah, of Moss Side, Manchester, was jailed for 10 years today after found guilty of possessing an AK47 gun, receiving £2,000 for terrorism and membership of ISIS.
Mohammed Abdallah – who was linked to Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi (right) – has been convicted of being a member of ISIS
On his entrance form,’supermarket vendor’ Abdallah said he wanted to become a ‘fighter’
In order to join the other terrorist group he had to get his father to send him £2,000 in order to pay his way in, which he picked up from a hotel in Istanbul.
But Abdallah lasted just three weeks with ISIS before he made another run to Turkey, this time taking £10,000. It is thought he may have used the money to buy his freedom.
He later claimed: ‘I missed my home town, I missed my friends, I missed the stuff you can do in the UK, going to the cinema.’
The official reason given on Mohammed’s exit form was ‘family circumstances’ and Khalifa’s said ‘claiming to be ill.’
Jailing him today, Mrs Justice Maura McGowan said: ‘I have no doubt that you fully understood what you were doing and the consequences of your actions.
‘You travelled to Libya in 2011 and fought there, you were taught to use a semi-automatic weapon and on your own account used it in battle to “kill or be killed”.’
The Abdallahs and Abedi were among a network of extremists who fought for ISIS. Many of the group of are from Libyan families and either grew up or have lived in Manchester
The trio who went to Syria kept in contact with Abdallah’s Abdalraouf, who is now in jail. He had been injured fighting in Libya but was flown to the UK for treatment on the NHS
Mohammed’s brother Abdalraouf, who was in communication with Mohammed and three other jihadis who travelled with him, was jailed last year.
He was visited in prison by Salman Abedi when the Manchester bomber was planning his massacre of families and children at the city’s arena.
Investigators are now examining what role, if any, the prison visits played in the atrocity.
In messages sent between Abdalraouf and his brother’s group in Syria in 2014, Mohammed’s associates boasted about life on the frontline.
Abdalraouf telling Khalifa: ‘Wallahi [I swear], u guys are living better than kings. You are enjoying yourselves, ha ha ha
Nezar Khalifa, who went to Syria with Mohammad replied: ‘We’re sat down with the group, enjoying ourselves. All Libya is here, by Allah there are lions.’
Abdallah is understood to have purchased a Russian gun like this to help him fight for ISIS
Speaking after the case, Det Chief Superintendent Dominic Scally, head of Counter-Terrorism Policing for the North West, said: ‘It is reasonable to say that if individuals have extremist views and are willing to travel to join ISIS, where they gain military experience, they represent a genuine threat to the UK.’
DCS Scally added: ‘We deal with each returner on a case by case basis but it is more than likely they will be arrested.
‘We have a good handle on who is out there and we are monitoring them and ready for their return.
‘The IS documents helped fill in when it can be difficult to work out what happened in the country.
‘In providing his details to Islamic State it made Abdallah’s intention clear and was an important piece of the jigsaw.’