UK man jailed for planning base attack
A British man who had planned an attack on an air force base in northern England with a homemade bomb using explosives taken from fireworks was on Friday jailed for nearly 40 years.
The sentencing judge said Mohammad Farooq, 29, had been inspired by Islamic State and was radicalised online.
Farooq was found guilty last July of preparing acts of terrorism following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty before trial to possessing an explosive substance with intent to endanger life and other offences after being arrested outside St James's Hospital in Leeds in January 2023.
Farooq was caught by police at the hospital, where he had previously worked as a student nurse, with a homemade bomb containing nearly 10 kilogrammes of explosives extracted from fireworks.
Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Farooq had originally targeted RAF Menwith Hill, a Royal Air Force base in North Yorkshire which is also used by US forces.
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