- Texas gunman urged his followers to read messages by British jihadi just hours before the Garland terror attack
- Junaid Hussain responded by praising the shooting at the art exhibition
- He appeared to know details of the attack before information was released
- 21-year-old was jailed in 2012 for stealing information about Tony Blair
- Birmingham-born jihadi later fled to Syria and has been involved in a number of serious cyber attacks by the terrorist group
Published:
15:31 GMT, 5 May 2015
|
Updated:
18:19 GMT, 5 May 2015
Terrorist: Junaid Hussain, 21, is a
former computer hacker turned jihadi who joined ISIS after fleeing his
home city of Birmingham in 2013
The
two gunmen who carried out ISIS' first terror attack on American soil
are feared to have been helped by a Syria-based British jihadi who was
once jailed for stealing Tony Blair's personal details.
Just
hours before the shooting in Garland, Texas took place, a Twitter
account understood to belong to gunman Elton Simpson, 31, demanded
readers follow a second account controlled by a notorious ISIS fighter
who uses the nom de guerre Abu Hussain al-Britani.
That
man is known to be Junaid Hussain, 21 - a former computer hacker turned
jihadi who joined ISIS after fleeing his home city of Birmingham in
2013.
And
within minutes of the first bullets being fired and while details of
the attack were still vague, Hussain posted messages praising the gunmen
as Muslim 'brothers' and revealed their target had been a exhibition
where artists were drawing pictures of the Prophet Mohammed.
The
digital connection between Simpson and Hussain raises the chilling
prospect that the Briton may well have known about the Texas terror
attack in advance.
Details
of the online relationship between Simpson and Hussain emerged as ISIS
militants claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, which left
57-yer-old security guard Bruce Joiner with gunshot wounds.
Both
Simpson and his housemate Nadir Soofi, 34, were shot dead by police
officers within seconds of the pair parking their vehicle and opening
fire outside the conference centre where the right-wing American Freedom
Defense Initiative was organising the cartoon contest.
In
the hours before the attack, Simpson used his Twitter account 'Sharia is
the Light' to post a series of messages about an impending 'Texas
attack'.
Among
these posts was a message urging his followers to subscribe to posts by
Hussain, who has long been active on the social network using the name
Abu Hussain al-Britani.
Shot dead:
Elton Simpson, pictured left, and Nadir Soofi, right, opened fire
outside an anti-Islam event on Sunday evening in Texas. Simpson is
understood to have been communicating with Hussain on Twitter
Chilling: In the hours before the
attack, Simpson used his Twitter account 'Sharia is the Light' to post a
series of messages about an impending 'Texas attack'
Plug: Among these posts was a message
urging his followers to subscribe to Junaid Hussain's Twitter account.
Hussain has long been active on the social network using the name Abu
Hussain al-Britani
Sickening: Just seconds after the
first shots were fired in Garland, Hussain posted what appeared to be
inside information about the attack - revealing two men were behind it
and that an art exhibit was targeted
Threat: The
apparent link between Junaid Hussain (pictured left and right) and at
least one of the Garland shooters prompted experts to question whether
the Briton had been in some way connected to the attack
Simpson's
final message read: 'The bro with me and myself have given bay'ah
[allegiance] to Amirul Mu'mineen. May Allah accept us as mujahideen
[jihadists]. Make dua [pray]. #texasattack.'
The
name Amirul Mu'mineen is an Islamic title meaning 'Commander of the
Faithful' and is commonly used by ISIS sympathisers to refer to the
terror group's leader - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Just
seconds after the first shots were fired in Garland, Hussain emerged on
Twitter to post what at the time appeared to be inside information
about the attack - revealing two men were behind it and that an art
exhibition had been targeted.
'2
of our brothers just opened fire at the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) art
exhibition in Texas', he wrote. A few minutes later he tweeted: 'They
Thought They Was Safe In Texas From The Soldiers of The Islamic State.'
A
short time later, Twitter suspended both Hussain and Simpson's accounts
- effectively removing their posts from the social network.
Killed: FBI crime scene investigators
look at the bodies of the two killed gunmen outside the Curtis Culwell
Center in Garland, Texas on Monday
Debris of a car blown up by police as a
precaution near the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas following
the attack on an anti-Muslim event
Attack: The bodies of Simpson and Soofi are seen next to their vehicle as it is searched for explosives
Target: Police stand guard outside the
Curtis Culwell Center, which hosted Sunday a provocative contest for
Prophet Muhammed cartoons
The
apparent link between Hussain and at least one of the Garland shooters
prompted experts to question whether the Briton had been in some way
connected to the attack.
Daveed
Gartenstein-Ross 'a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, an adjunct assistant professor in Georgetown University’s
security studies program, this morning said: 'The Garland attackers
didn't receive training from ISIS. The interesting question is whether
Junaid Hussain knew about the attack in advance'.
Convert: At some point Hussain groomed
Sally Jones - a 45-year-old single mother from Kent. She is understood
to now live with him in Syria
'ISIS'
claim of responsibility for the Garland attack provides little new
information. Simpson's loyalty to ISIS had already been clear,' he
added.
Rukmini
Callimachi, security correspondent at the New York Times added that,
before the account was deleted, Simpson's 'Sharia is Light' Twitter
handle had been in contact with some 'big names' in the ISIS fold.
Included in that list was Hussain, whom Callimachi identified as the terror group's 'top hacker'.
The
news comes as it was revealed an activist linked to the international
hackers' collective Anonymous tipped off Garland police about an
eminent attack on an anti-Islam event two days before it happened - but
the red flag went unnoticed.
The
Daily Dot reported that Garland Police Department had received advance
warning of the attack two days earlier, courtesy of a woman living
outside the US who has identified herself as an affiliate of the
Anonymous network.
On
Friday evening, the unnamed Anonymous member came upon references to a
looming attack in Garland, Texas, made by the user @AnsarAlUmmah49.
The
woman then sent a message to the Garland Police Department's official
Twitter account that read: 'we feel something is in preparation about an
exposition in your city. Please follow this #
twitter.com/AnsarAlUmmah49...’
But
despite her efforts, her tip never made it to the desk of the right
people at the department. Garland PD spokesperson Joe Hard said he knew
nothing of the Twitter warning until yesterday.
Extremists:
Sally Jones - a 45-year-old single mother from Kent - converted to
Islam shortly before travelling to Syria along with her 10-year-old son
in order to marry Junaid Hussain
Past life: Former punk rocker Sally
Jones has been identified as playing a key role in ISIS' recruitment of
thousands of English-speaking wannabe jihadis living in the West
Investigation: Agents work on the
scene near to where the men opened fire before they were shot dead by a
traffic officer. Investigators destroyed some of the belongings found
inside the back of the suspects' car, pictured, as a precaution
Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team investigate the crime scene outside the Curtis Culwell Center
Hussain
first became known to the authorities in early 2012 when, as an
18-year-old member of the hacking collective TeaMp0isoN, he confessed to
stealing former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s personal details and
blocking an anti-terror hotline with prank telephone calls.
He
was jailed for just six months for the crime, which saw him publicly
post sensitive information about the Blair family online, after hacking
into former special advisor Katy Kay’s email account.
Using
the online alias ‘Trick’, Hussain uploaded phone numbers and addresses,
as well as the ex-PM’s email address and National Insurance number, at
the beginning of 2011.
But
he didn’t stop there – continuing to post private information about Mr
Blair’s wife Cherie and their children, his sister-in-law Lyndsey Booth
and friends, as well as sitting MPs and Lords.
At
the time his defence barrister, Ben Cooper, claimed his crimes were no
worse than the antics of the Bullingdon Club – an exclusive society
dining club for Oxford University students, and put it down to a
'teenage prank'.
Hussain
also bombarded the national anti-terror hotline with prank calls -
leaving the numbers ‘permanently engaged’ after calling it 111 times in
three days, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Upon
being released from prison, Hussain fled to Syria where he put his
hacking skills to use on behalf of the terror group and became a
prominent face of the terror group on Twitter.
Hacked: More recently Hussain was
identified as the main suspect in the hacking of Twitter and Facebook
accounts belonging to U.S. Central Command
Terror: Posted to the Twitter account
was this ominous threat to American soldiers which follows a similar
video warning posted by Abu Mohammed al Adnani, spokesman for ISIS
Threats: The Twitter hack posted the names, telephone numbers and home addresses of 4-Star US generals
At
some point Hussain groomed Sally Jones - a 45-year-old single mother
from Kent - and convincing the former punk rocker to convert to Islam,
and travel with to Syria with her 10-year-old son in order to marry the
militant.
Thanks
to their savvy use of social media, the couple have since been
identified as playing a key role in ISIS' recruitment of thousands of
English-speaking wannabe jihadis living in the West.
Last
August Hussain - who is easily recognised online thanks to his repeated
use of a profile picture showing him with a scarf over his face and an
assault rifle in his hands - was feared to be behind a cyber plot to
empty British bank accounts to fund terrorism in the Middle East.
British
financial institutions were should to have been aware of the attacks
and were working overtime to prevent their customers' funds being
extracted.
'The hackers are targeting the accounts of the rich and famous, VIP
clients of banks and big businesses,' a source told the Daily Mirror at
the time.
'This
is an international fraud on an unprecedented scale and the result
could be a bottomless pit of money to fund their campaign of terror,'
the source added.
More
recently Hussain was identified as the main suspect in the hacking of
Twitter and Facebook accounts belonging to U.S. Central Command.
That
incident saw threatening messages and pro-ISIS propaganda videos being
posted from official social media accounts belonging to the United
States Defense Department.
No comments:
Post a Comment