Junead Khan, from Luton, was aided by a notorious British ISIS fighter in Syria as he plotted to carry out the atrocity outside RAF Mildenhall, where US Air Force personel are stationed.
BREAKING NEWS: Schizophrenic Boots delivery driver plotted to emulate Jihadi John and behead a US serviceman in a Lee Rigby-style attack outside a UK airbase
By Richard Spillett and Duncan Gardham For Mailonline
- Delivery driver planned to kill US airman outside airbase in Britain
- He got the idea while delivering goods to a pharmacy in East Anglia
- He plotted with a notorious British ISIS fighter later killed in Middle East
- Plotter and his uncle have also been convicted of planning to go to Syria
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A Boots delivery driver has been found guilty of plotting to behead a US serviceman stationed in Britain in a Lee Rigby-style attack in which he wanted to emulate Jihadi John.
Junead Khan, from Luton, was aided by a notorious British ISIS fighter in Syria as he plotted to carry out the atrocity outside RAF Mildenhall, where US Air Force personnel are stationed.
Schizophrenic Khan was a delivery driver and got the idea of an attack outside the airbase after driving past Mildenhall as he took goods to a Lloyds's pharmacy.
Khan wanted to a buy a knife similar to that used by Jihadi John and an ISIS flag was found at his home, which it is believed he wanted to unfurl at the scene.
He was directed by Junaid Hussain, a computer hacker from Birmingham who became one of ISIS's chief recruiters before he was killed by a US drone.
Khan was found guilty of preparing for an act of terrorism in the UK between May and July 2015 after a trial at Kingston Crown Court in London.
He was also convicted alongside his uncle, Shazib Khan, 23, of preparing to go to Syria to join IS. Some of the evidence used to convict the pair cannot be revealed for legal reasons.
Both men had denied engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts between August 1 2014 and July 15 2015.
Neither showed any emotion as the jury returned its verdicts after deliberating for almost 24 hours at the end of a six-and-a-half-week trial.
The plot was to emulate the killing of Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks in South London and Junead was researching hunting knives of the type used by ISIS executioner 'Jihadi John.'
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, told parliament at the time that Khan's contact, Junaid Hussain, was involved in 'actively recruiting ISIL sympathisers and seeking to orchestrate specific and barbaric attacks against the West.'
Hussain had told Khan: 'InshAllah [god willing], I can get u addresses but of British soldiers' but then added: 'most soldiers live in bases which are protected. I suppose on the road is the best idea.'
Khan refused to engage with the Prevent counter-extremism programme and was investigated because he was attending radical talks in Luton.
Khan delivered medical supplies to Boots, Superdrug, Morrison's Supermarket and Co-Op along with hospitals and surgeries on behalf of Alliance Healthcare.
His normal route took him through North London but during Ramadan last summer, he asked to be switched to less congested routes because he was suffering from headaches while he was fasting.
The new routes took him to East Anglia and to two Lloyd's pharmacies in the village of Mildenhall, Suffolk, close to two US airbases.
RAF Mildenhall and neighbouring RAF Lakenheath were re-opened after the second World War to host B-29 Superfortresses and have hosted US airmen ever since.
Lakenheath is currently home to the 48th 'Liberty' Fighter Wing and Mildenhall to the 100th Air Refueling Wing.
On July 5 2015, Khan wrote to Junaid Hussain on the encrypted Surespot app: 'When I saw these US soldiers on road, it just looked simple, but I had nothing on me or wouldve got into an accident with them and made them get out the car.'
'That's what the brother done with Lee Rigby,' Hussain said.
'Yes brother Mujahid style, accident and then attack,' Junead agreed enthusiastically, referring to Michael Adebolajo, one of the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
Hussain suggested it was 'best to have at least pipe bombs or pressure cooker bomb in a backpack incase something happens, so u can do isthishadi bomb [suicide bomb] incase they try to arrest u.'
Khan agreed: 'Definitely, depends on the ingredients, on getting hold of them.'
'I have a manual for pressure cooker bomb,' Hussain told him, promising that the link was '100% safe' because he had access to the server and deleted everything after uploading it.
'Ok, I got it,' Junead reported back at 11.30pm.
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