Terror plot mastermind in contact with Jihadi John

Tarik Hassane (L) and Suhaib Majeed
Tarik Hassane (L) and Suhaib Majeed Credit: CPS

A British medical student who masterminded Isil’s first UK terror plot, to kill soldiers and police, was in contact with Jihadi John, it can be disclosed.

Tarik Hassane, 22, nicknamed The Surgeon, knew Mohammed Emwazi after growing up in the same part of west London.

He is believed to have spent time in Syria and may have even met up with the notorious Isil executioner while there, sources said.

Hassane went on to plot a series of drive-by shootings in west London to target police and military personnel – just weeks after the terror group declared its so-called caliphate.

Police said the major plot represented an “escalation” in the ambitions ofIslamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil) to carry out more ambitious attacks and it drew parallels with last year's Paris massacre.

Mohammed Emwazi 

Hassane previously pleaded guilty to the terror plot but his co-accused, Suhaib Majeed, was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey.

The pair had already obtained a pistol and silencer and were looking to buy a moped when police moved in, in September 2014.

It can now be reported that Hassane came from the Ladbroke Grove area of London, where Emwazi grew up.

Emwazi left Britain for Syria in 2012 and went on to become the brutal Isil executioner dubbed Jihadi John, who was responsible for beheading a number of western hostages including two Britons.

He first appeared, unidentified, as the masked killer in August 2014 when he murdered American journalist James Foley.

Hassane was studying at a medical school in Sudan at the time but was also plotting with his friend in the UK to carry out a terror attack in Isil’s name.

It is suspected Hassane spent some time in Syria during his time in Sudan and sources cannot rule out the possibility he met up with Emwazi.

Although it is not believed Emwazi had any direct involvement in Hassane’s plans, there was a direct Isil link.

Hassane’s lieutenant and old school friend, Majeed, was in contact with fanatics in Syria from his London home who provided him with advice and tips on how to set up encrypted communications to allow them to plot in secret.

Hassane conducted 'hostile reconnaissance' of a police station in Shepherd's Bush   Credit: PA

Hassane and Majeed, 21, were to use an untraceable scooter to carry out the assassinations in the name of Isil.

They also planned to flee the carnage, raising the prospect of further attacks.

Petty criminal Nathan Cuffy, 26, stashed four guns in his bedroom and ex-convict Nyall Hamlett, 25, supplied a self-loading pistol, ammunition and silencer before their arrests in September 2014.

Cuffy and Hamlett admitted firearms charges and also face lenghty jail terms, but were acquitted of knowing about the terror plot.

Hassane had planned the attack while studying at the University of Sciences and Technology in Khartoum and used Majeed as his link man in the UK.

The pair communicated on the encrypted messaging app Telegram under the title “Turnup Terror Squad”.

They planned to target Shepherds Bush police station in west Londonand the nearby Parachute Regiment Territorial Army barracks in White City.

Hassane was still in Sudan when his co-accused were arrested but he still returned to the UK to continue his plot as a “lone-wolf” attacker.

Tarik Hassane, top, and Suhaib Majeed as school friends

He carried out “hostile reconnaissance” of the two targets using Google earth before police, who had been watching him, rounded him up as well.

Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism unit said it demonstrated what a “determined and dangerous” man he was.

Hassane had declared allegiance to Isil just a month after it had declared itself the Islamist State in June 2014.

He was later inspired by a fatwa issued by the terror group in September 2014 that called on followers around the world to attack the police, military and security forces.

Commander Haydon said: “It endorsed what Hassane was planning. He took inspiration and endorsed his planned activities around a plot to kill police and military.”

He said the plot demonstrated an “escalation” in terms of the type of plots Isil was planning or inspiring against the UK and said it drew parallels with the Paris attacks.

He said recent terror attacks, such as the Lee Rigby murder, while “catastrophic” involved low level tactics such as use of a knife.

“This is almost an elevation in complexity. This is about acquiring a moped, committing a drive by shooting, acquiring firearms , a silencer and ammunition and in broad daylight targeting police officers or the military and members of the public and then making good their escape.

“So that is a real concern, a real concern for me and a real concern for the counter terrorism command in that we have almost seen an escalation.

“But the counter to that is that the police, CT and sec and intelligence agencies, we work very hard to both in our coverage to thwart those plots and attacks.”

He added: “It does draw parallels in a way to Paris. The attackers were intent on murder, intent on using firearms intent on causing fear, distress disorder in a particular part of west London and they were not prepared to hang around either.

“They were going to leave the scene, leaving public and police and everyone concerned wondering who had actually committed the attack.”

It was also the largest counter terrorism case of its kind in terms of digital media. Officers seized a massive 22 terrabytes, the equivalent of two million files or 75 miles of paper if printed out and laid out.