London Bridge attacker, Usman Khan, buried in Kashmir
Usman Khan, who killed two people in an attack near the London Bridge on November 29, was buried in his ancestral village in Azad Kashmir on Friday, two reporters in the valley told local media.
The reporter, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Khan was buried in Kajlani village in Kotli district after Asr prayers.
He added that his family refused to speak to the media when they were contacted, saying they had already released a statement.
According to the BBC, his family said they were “saddened and shocked” and they “totally condemn his actions.”
Another reporter told local media sources that only Khan’s family and relatives were present at his funeral.
According to reports in the UK media, Khan was first arrested in 2008 but was released without being charged. He was arrested again in December 2010 and sentenced in 2012 to detention for eight years after he confessed to preparing terrorist acts.
He was released in 2018 and was ordered to wear a GPS tag so the UK police could monitor his movements.
However, the UK officials never said that he was radicalised in Pakistan.
According to the Guardian, Khan was inspired by the ideology of Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. The report said that the London bridge attacker was a “student” and “close friend” of al-Muhajiroun leader Anjem Chaudhry.
Raja Mushtaq Ahmed, a relative of Usman Khan and also a resident of ancestral village, told journalist Secunder Kermani a few days ago that Usman Khan was unhappy about “western injustices” in the Muslim world.
Read More: London Bridge attacker was a convicted terrorist: Police
“He used to say this is injustice… conspiracies are being hatched against Islam,” Ahmed said in the video shared by Kermani. He said that he remembers Usman Khan used to visit his village as a teen and they used to discuss religious matters together.
“Muslims are being oppressed. Why did they do injustice to us? He used to ask,” recalled Ahmed. “I used to tell him that it should be stopped but we should make it stop by responding peacefully.”
Source: SAMAA
“Khan once broke down in tears showing him a picture of Aafia,” Kermani quoted Ahmed as saying.
Khan’s residence in Stoke was raided by counter-terrorism police in 2008 but he wasn’t charged.
In an interview with the BBC in 2008, Khan said that he was born and bred in England in Stoke-on-Trent and the community knew him.
“They [the community] will know, if you ask them, they will know like these labels what they’re putting on us, like terrorists this, that, they will know I ain’t no terrorist,” he said.
Source: BBC
