Leytonstone Tube attack: 'IS supporter' gets life sentence

A man inspired by Islamic extremism to attack Tube passengers with a bread knife, slashing the throat of one, has been given a life sentence, with a minimum of eight and a half years.

Muhiddin Mire, aged 30, launched what The Sun calls a "crazed attack" on Lyle Zimmerman, a 56-year-old musician, and threatened four others in the ticket hall of London's Leytonstone Underground station on 5 December 2015.

The incident came just weeks after last year's terror attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, the Evening Standard notes. Mire, who has paranoid schizophrenia, told police that the rampage was in retaliation for coalition airstrikes in Syria that had taken place three days previously.

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Doctors giving evidence to the hearing were divided over whether Mire's mental illness was the sole reason for the attack, says The Guardian: "One doctor told the judge it was possible for Mire's obsession with Islamic terrorism to be separate from the illness."

Ultimately Judge Nicholas Hilliard sided with this assessment. Sentencing the Somali-born knifeman at the Old Bailey, the judge said that while he accepted Mire was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time, he also believed he was motivated by events in Syria.

Mire has been given a "hybrid hospital" order, says The Mirror, meaning he will serve his sentence at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. "However, if he is deemed to no longer need hospital treatment before his sentence is up, he will be taken to prison to serve the remainder of it."

During the attack, one onlooker shouted to Mire "You ain't no Muslim, bruv", a phrase which ended up trending on Twitter. Another eyewitness, Dave Pethers, denied that he had been a hero for confronting Mire, telling Good Morning Britain on ITV that "anyone could have done it".

Leytonstone Tube stabbing: man charged with attempted murder

07 December 2015

The man arrested after a knife attack at Leytonstone Tube station on Saturday evening has been charged with attempted murder.

Muhaydin Mire, 29, from Leytonstone, will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court later today.

A 56-year-old man suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries in the attack and is recovering in hospital. A second man was slightly injured and a woman was threatened but unhurt.

Witnesses claim the knifeman shouted "this is for mother Syria" and "all of your blood will be spilled" as he wielded his knife.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it is treating the attack as a terrorist incident, but early reports suggest that the incident was not a planned or co-ordinated attack, says The Times.

Armed patrols will be increased across the capital's transport network as Commander Richard Walton, who leads the Met's counter-terrorism command, warned that further attacks are possible.

"I would continue to urge the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant," he said.

Last week's Commons vote to launch air strikes in Syria prompted fears that an attack could take place on UK streets, but Labour's John Cryer said it would be dangerous to link it to the "barbaric" attack.

Footage of Saturday's incident, recorded by bystanders on their mobile phones, shows police using a Taser to stun the attacker, before disarming him and placing him under arrest.

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In some of the recordings, a bystander can be heard calling out: "You ain't no Muslim, bruv."

The term quickly began trending across social media, with many arguing that it was the "perfect London response" to such an attack.