Islamic State associate of the London Bridge attacker arrested

An associate of the man who killed two people in a brutal terrorist knife attack on the London Bridge was arrested on Saturday to prevent an apparent copycat attack.

Nazam Hussain, 34, was involved in a terrorist Islamic State cell along with Usam Khan, whose Friday knife attack ended in his death by police gunfire. Both men were jailed along with others in 2012 after being charged with plotting to attack several high-profile targets in London, including the stock exchange and Westminster Abbey.

Both men faced long sentences for their crimes, though they were released early as part of a policy in the United Kingdom for prisoners. Khan was part of a post-release prison education seminar the same day he violently and suddenly attacked pedestrians on the London Bridge.

Police in Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands arrested Hussain after a search of his home left them suspicious that he was planning a similar attack to that of Khan’s. Police asserted, however, that there was no indication Hussain was involved in the planning or execution of Khan’s attack.

Six of the nine members of the terrorist cell that Khan and Hussain were involved in have been released from prison after being convicted in 2012. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that 74 convicted terrorists have been given early release following the removal of the Extended Sentence for Public Protection. The removal of the statute was strongly advocated for by the opposing Labour Party.

Source: Washington Examiner