UK court gives life sentence over planned Defence Academy attack

A UK court sentenced Mohammad Bashir, 31, to life in prison Thursday for planning a separate terror attack with Jihad Al-Shamie, who later carried out a deadly stabbing attack at a Manchester synagogue.

Bashir pleaded guilty last month to preparation of terrorist acts. He will serve a minimum term of 17 years.

Al-Shamie attacked a synagogue in Manchester last October, killing two people. He was later shot dead by police. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Bashir was involved in that attack.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Bashir drove Al-Shamie last August on a trip to spy on the UK Defence Academy, a military education institution in Swindon in southwest England. Prosecutors said plans to attack the defence ministry facility were advanced and would have been deadly if carried out.

Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the planned attack on the Defence Academy was viable and broadly similar to the way Al-Shamie attacked the synagogue. She said Bashir had become a firmly committed jihadist and that he and Al-Shamie were equally engaged and enthusiastic in planning the attack.

The judge said she was sure Bashir was going to take an active part and that the plan was far advanced, lacking only the acquisition of weapons.

The court heard that Bashir sent more than 2,000 messages over six months in an Islamic extremist group chat with Al-Shamie and 10 other members. Many messages concerned physical violence in the cause of jihad, including calls for persecution and murder.

Bashir was arrested in November at Manchester Airport after returning from a family wedding in Pakistan.