Two of Britain’s most dangerous terrorists could be free in WEEKS as UK faces biggest threat from extremists in decades
TWO of the Britain’s most dangerous terrorists could be free in just weeks – as the UK faces its biggest threat from extremists in decades.
Rangzieb Ahmed, once described as an “Al-Qaeda mastermind”, and Nazam Hussain, who plotted attacks alongside London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan, will bid for parole next month.
The Sun Online can reveal that officials also released a third fanatic – Fahim Adam – who was jailed after being found with files on his phone detailing how to carry out a lone wolf terror attack.
Chris Phillips, the UK’s former Head of the National Counter Terrorism, said: “This is madness – particularly given the massive pressures UK security services are under.
“Releasing these men is a disaster waiting to happen.
“No matter how many conditions you put in place on terrorists, they are free to kill.”
It comes just days after the Prime Minister warned the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was leaving Britain facing a frightening new threat from terrorists.
Desperate MI6 officials will even hold talks with the Taliban as fears grow about terrorists plotting UK attacks from Afghanistan, it emerged last week.
Yet officials are now considering releasing jihadists back on to the streets and making the risk to public safety even greater.
Ahmed, 45, from Manchester was locked up in 2008 for life after cops nabbed him for planning attacks against the UK.
He was linked to the 7/7 bombers who killed 52 people in London in 2005, and he was found with notebooks filled with terror contacts scrawled in invisible ink.
He is believed to have ties to every major British terror cell and was heard boasting of meeting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the 9/11.
Officials today confirmed he will go before the Parole Board in October, with a decision planned by the end of the month.
Hussain, meanwhile, was part of the terror-cell containing Khan.
The 34-year-old from Stoke, Staffordshire, was later described as more dangerous than the London Bridge terrorist and was jailed for at least eight years in 2012.
A judge then warned Hussain was such a “significant risk” to the public that he could not be “adequately protected on licence in the community”.
‘DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN’
Despite this, Hussain was freed early from prison in November 2019 only to be recalled just two weeks later for breaching his parole conditions.
Yet now Parole Board officials are considering releasing him again in a hearing which will also take place next month, with a decision by November.
It comes just weeks after the officials who will decide on Ahmed and Hussain’s fate gave their approval for jailed-fanatic Adam, 34, from Blackburn, Lancashire, to walk free.
He was locked up for 30 months in February 2019 for “possessing documents useful for terrorism”.
These included an Islamic State file containing instructions on how to carry out ‘lone wolf’ knife attacks, as well as tips on finding vulnerable spots to aim for when knifing people.
He had also viewed videos showing soldiers being hung and beheaded.
Confirming Adam’s release, a Parole Board spokesman told The Sun Online: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board directed the release of Fahim Adam following an oral hearing in July.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
This is madness – particularly given the massive pressures UK security services are under.
Chris Phillips
Meanwhile, four other jailed fanatics are also set to bid for freedom in the New Year.
Those up for parole include lifer Salahuddin Amin, 46, from Luton, Bedfordshire, who was considered by police to be a “pivot in the link between British extremists and the al-Qaeda network” and jailed for life in 2007.
Fellow-lifer Parviz Khan, 50, from Alum Rock, Birmingham, who was jailed in 2008 for a plot to behead a British soldier, is also up for parole in a few months time.
Zakariya Ashiq, a fanatic who hitch-hiked across Europe to try and join ISIS, will bid for freedom in the New Year as well.
The 26-year-old from Coventry, West Midlands, was jailed for six years in 2015.
Also expected to shortly appear before parole officials is Mohammed Khiliji, 21, from Brent, north west London.
He was jailed for five years in 2019 for encouraging terrorism by sharing graphic videos showing soldiers being beheaded.
It raises the prospect that as many as seven of the country’s most dangerous terrorists could be back walking the streets within a few months.
