Wannabe ISIS fighter is jailed for more than four years

Ahmedeltigani Alsyed, 20, planned to go to Syria to fight with ISIS but was too scared to get hit with a paintball while training in Surrey

An Islamic terrorist who wanted to die as a jihadi even though he was terrified of paintballing has today been jailed for more than four years.

Ahmedeltigani Alsyed, 20, and his brother Yusef Alsyed, 18, took out a gym subscription to ‘increase their fitness’ and attended a paintball event to train for battle in Syria.

The pair had a ‘shared aspiration’ to fight in the war-torn country and become martyrs with Mohammed Ali, 18, and a 17-year-old Deliveroo driver, who cannot be named, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

During the paintballing session, Ahmed, was filmed making an ISIS one fingered salute and telling the camera in Arabic: ‘This is a message to everyone. If we do not come back safe and sound, look after our families. That is all.’

His brother, who stood next to him, is seen laughing in the video.

The four of them chatted on encrypted messaging app Telegram, under a group called ‘Peace’, about how to join the terrorist group throughout 2016.

Ahmedeltigani, known as Ahmed, was jailed for four years and three months.

His brother Yusef will be sentenced at a later date after spending yesterday in the hospital wing at Belmarsh Prison.

 

Paintballing jihadists Ahmeddeltigani Alsyed (left) and his younger brother Yousif Alsyed, 18, at the Blind Fire paintball, in Chobham, Surrey in September 2016

Paintballing jihadists Ahmeddeltigani Alsyed (left) and his younger brother Yousif Alsyed, 18, at the Blind Fire paintball, in Chobham, Surrey in September 2016

Ahmed Alsyed claimed the paintballing trip in September 2016 was an ‘innocent afternoon’ out, and had been invited to by his cousin.

He told the court: ‘To be honest I was terrified,’ he said ‘I was hiding the whole match as well. I didn’t want to get hit.’

Judge Andrew Lees said: ‘You and your brother attended a paintball event on 3 September 2016 with two cousins.

‘In the video footage of this occasion you were asked to say something in the camera.

‘You said: ‘This is a message to everyone; if we do not come back safe and sound, look after our families that’s all!’

‘There’s further footage of you performing a single finger salute associated with, although not exclusively, Daesh.

‘You said you were terrified at the paintballing event, not fighting jihad, and the single finger salute was the way you talked, rather than a gesture associated with Daesh.

Yousif Alsyed had earlier pleaded guilty to preparing terror acts

Muhammad Ali, 18, pictured, who was jailed in January along with a 17-year-old boy for attempting to join ISIS

Yousif Alsyed had earlier pleaded guilty to preparing terror acts. The two brothers had been part of a secret Telegram group called ‘Peace’, involving Muhammad Ali, 18, right, who was jailed in January along with a 17-year-old boy for attempting to join ISIS 

‘You said you were not attending the gym to get fit for jihad and pointed out that you had attended a gym in 2014 before your radicalisation.

‘Having heard the evidence and considered the evidence of your radicalisation, your communication with others, and your intention to die as a martyr, I am sure that the comments were not about paintball but about jihad.

‘It’s with great concern that you were commenting in the way you were in front of your two young cousins who were 14 and 11.’

Prosecutor Annabell Darlow, QC, said Ahmed Alysed was born in Sudan in 1997 and was living in Hounslow at the time of his arrest.

She said: ‘Ahmed and Yusef Alsyed shared an aspiration to travel to Syria to join and fight with fundamentalist jihadi groups and ultimately to die fighting in the belief that in death they would achieve martyrdom.’

Yusef came to the attention of police through the government anti-extremism strategy Prevent.

Ms Darlow said: ‘In April/May 2016 an individual called ‘Abu Ibrahim’ was using Telegram to try to travel to Syria to become a Martyr and was awaiting the green light to travel.

‘Abu Ibrahim was identified as Yusef Alsyed.’

Members of the Alsyed family went on holiday to Egypt and were stopped as part of a ‘Schedule 7 Port Stop’ on their return to the UK on August 10, 2016.

The brothers’ seized phones contained a large amount of ‘Islamist extremist mind-set material and Telegram contact with a facilitator in Yemen about potential travel to Libya or Syria in the purpose of joining Daesh,’ said Ms Darlow.

‘The messages recovered from the telephones reveals a number of significant conversations.

Ahmedeltigani Alsyed was jailed for four years and three months at Woolwich Crown Court

Ahmedeltigani Alsyed was jailed for four years and three months at Woolwich Crown Court

‘Yusef communicated with an individual called ‘N’. That conversation indicating that Yusef Alsyed intended to travel to Syria and had carried out inquiries and made plans to facilitate travel. He said he wanted to do Jihad.’

Yusef was asked by ‘N’ what his future plans were and he replied ‘my plan is to die for Allah, to be a martyr’.

Ahmed Alsyed also spoke of his intention to travel to Syria in a conversation over Facebook with a user called ‘Muthanna Seven’.

He told Muthanna Seven ‘I know that I have to go to Turkey first but I don’t know how to get to Syria, I don’t even know how to get to the border’.

Ahmed Alsyed also said he had listened to Anwar al-Awlaki, the former leader of Al Qaeda in Yemen, who he thought he was an ‘amazing person’ and he ‘loved him so much’.

He said he was motivated by ‘watching videos of martyrs smiling’.

Speaking of his plan to fight in Syria, Ahmed said: ‘I feel like I just want to be there as soon as possible’.

Ahmed also told Muthanna Seven in May 2016 that he had tried to persuade his cousin to accompany him on jihad and ‘join him on the front’.

Two videos found on the brothers’ phones were shown to the court, including one demonstrating where to stab victims in ‘lone wolf’ attacks and how to make bombs at home.

Ms Darlow said: ‘It contains detailed instructions using knives in ‘lone wolf’ attacks in the West, including what type of knife and where to stab people, that culminates in a fatal demonstration on a live prisoner described as a spy.’

I’m sure it was your intention and had been an intention for many months to travel to Syria and die as a martyr.

A further section gives instructions on how to make an IED using hydrogen peroxide and ball bearings before being demonstrated on a live human being, also said to be a spy, who is shot at in a desert before the device explodes.

Pictures were also posted on a Telegram group, called ‘Peace’, of dead males in combat clothing, apparently smiling, to reflect a belief that those entering martyrdom smile at the point of their death.

Ahmed Alsyed also expressed the need to work on his fitness, joining Xercise 4 Less’ in Hounslow in September 2016 and ‘The Gym’ in February 2017.

He denied attending the gym to ‘get fit for jihad’ but said he was ‘passionate’ about training because he wanted to be a bodybuilder. 

The brothers were arrested at their home on 20 February 2017 after Ali and the 17-year-old were stopped trying to board a flight to Istanbul.

Judge Lees said: ‘You and your brother and the other co-defendants shared an aspiration to travel to Syria to join and fight with fundamentalist Jihadi groups and ultimately to die fighting in the belief that in death you would achieve martyrdom.

‘It is clear that you were both seeking information on how to travel and expressing the intention of following the others to syria to die in martyrdom.’

The judge said the pair had ‘exchanged extremist material’ on the secret messaging service Telegram including two videos, one entitled ‘Crusades, battles and executions of prisoners of Daesh’ and the other which was called ”You must fight them O Muwahhid.’ 

He said: ‘It’s truly sickening footage. You became radicalised, your actions must have acted as encouragement to the others in your group to prepare for terrorist acts and further your shared aspiration to travel to Syria.

‘I accept that you did not have a passport and that you did not have the funds to travel at the time of your arrest. Nevertheless I’m sure it was your intention and had been an intention for many months to travel to Syria and die as a martyr.

‘Both you and your brother held deep and extensive radicalised beliefs.’

Ahmed Alsyed, and Yusef Alsyed, of Feltham, Middlesex, admitted preparing acts of terrorism and disseminating terrorism publication.

Ahmed also admitted possessing information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism.

He was detained for four years and three months at a youth detention centre. A parole board will rule whether he can be released after he has served half of the sentence. He will also be subject to a one year license period on his eventual release.

Ali, of Morden, south London, and the 17-year-old previously admitted preparing acts of terrorism.

Ali was jailed for four years and two months and the 17-year-old was detained for two years and eight months at the Old Bailey last November.

Yusef Alsyed will be sentenced on a date to be set.  



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