IS inspired teen pleads guilty to planning attack on Elton John concert

Haroon Syed, 19, was caught after he discussed his plans online with intelligence agents posing as fellow extremists

A 19-year-old has pleaded guilty in a UK court for plotting potential bomb attacks on London hubs including an Elton John concert scheduled on the anniversary of 9/11 at Hyde Park.

Hounslow resident Haroon Syed pleaded guilty to preparing for terrorist attacks between April and September 2016 at London’s Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, most commonly known as the Old Bailey, on Thursday

At the hearing, the court heard how Syed attempted to buy weapons online, including a machine gun, handguns, a suicide vest and a bomb, and searched through the internet to look for crowded areas in London to target.

Setting the trap

Syed was caught after he chatted online with a British intelligence agent posing as fellow extremist named “Abu Yusuf” about procuring the weapons and asked for “gear” for his “opp.”



Prosecutors told the court that when the agent asked for details of his attack, Syed said he needed a machine gun and an explosive vest “so after some damage with machine gun, do martyrdom... that’s what I’m planning to do”.

When told that the weapons would be costly, Syed reportedly told “Abu Yusuf” that he didn’t have any money but pressed for the resources saying, “You have to find out the price for the machine gun, any gun.”

They kept discussing how to make or get hold of a bomb and guns throughout August even though Syed had admitted that he had never used a gun before.

Prosecutors further told the court that on August 30 Syed told “Abu Yusuf” he needed a “portable” device, adding: “I might put the bomb in the train and then I’m going to jump out so the bomb explodes on the train… so ask the brother if he can make that type of bomb with button.”

Syed agreed to pick up the bomb next week for £150 and asked “Abu Yusuf” to ensure it was packed with nails. “I was thinking of Oxford Street... if I go to prison, I go to prison. If I die, I die, you understand,” he had said, according to prosecutors.

The court was also told that the teenager had searched the internet for the so-called Islamic State (IS), previous terror attacks and potential targets including an Elton John concert in Hyde Park that was to be held on September 11.

Police arrested Syed three days before the planned attack from his home in Hounslow, West London.

When asked for the password to unlock his phone, Syed reportedly replied: “Yeah ISIS –you like that?”

Judge Michael Topolski QC warned Syed that he faced a life sentence and adjourned sentencing until June 8. A probation and psychiatric report will be carried out in the meantime.

"Vulnerable mind"

The legal papers that the defence prepared for Syed described him as “highly vulnerable due to family history, lack of education, addiction to violent online games and the arrest and imprisonment of his brother”.

His brother, 23-year-old Nadir Syed, was awarded a life sentence in June last year after being found guilty of plotting a beheading around Remembrance Sunday in 2014.

A defence statement claimed that although Syed was groomed by extremists online, he never planned to go ahead with the attack and the recorded conversations were a “fantasy to see how far it would go."

His representative, Mark Summers QC, argued that the government should have intervened earlier and offered the teenager help through Prevent, its deradicalisation programme.