Brothers who planned to join Islamic State jailed

Two brothers who admitted planning to travel to Afghanistan to join a branch of the Islamic State (IS) have been jailed.

Muhammad Abdul Haleem Heyder Khan, 21, and Muhammad Hamzah Heyder Khan, 18, both pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to preparing for acts of terrorism.

Muhammad Abdul Haleem Heyder Khan was jailed for 10 years

His younger brother was given an eight-year custodial sentence.

The pair, from Ward End, Birmingham, were each handed an extended period on licence of four years.

They changed their pleas to guilty less than a week into their trial in July.

The court heard how the brothers, who were arrested on 2 November last year, became "increasingly radicalised" over the course of 2022.

Both researched how to travel to Afghanistan to join the terrorist organisation known as Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP).

They had also completed application forms to join IS, the court heard.

IS was proscribed by the home secretary in 2014 and ISKP is recognised as one of its "regional branches".

Explaining the sentence, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said there remained a "significant risk" that the pair could cause "serious harm" and he said he needed to ensure the public was "properly protected".

"Up until trial, it is a very relevant fact that you were both advancing a completely dishonest account, that you did not hold any extreme views," he said.

"I consider it necessary to impose an extended sentence of imprisonment in each of your cases, which means that there will be an extended licence period in each case of four years."

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