Mohamad al-Bared, a Ph.D. engineering student in the United Kingdom, is convicted of building a 3D printed a drone for the Islamic State with the purpose of delivering an explosive warhead. Mohamad al-Bared 3D printed the various parts of the drone and assembled it in his bedroom at home in Coventry.
According to the statement issued by the counter-terrorism police department in West Midlands, “Al-Bared manufactured the drone specifically to transport an explosive or chemical weapon into enemy territory for ISIS”.
Despite the fact that the case dates back to early this year, the guilty verdict was only handed down a week ago. On January 31, police raided Al Bared’s home and discovered the drone, his 3D printer, and notebooks containing chemical weapon recipes.
“Following intricate analysis of these devices, detectives revealed a series of conversations on his devices clearly demonstrating his support for ISIS as well as extremist material and violent propaganda videos.”
Statement from Counter Terrorism Policing department
Student 3D Printed a Drone for the Islamic State
In court, Al-Bared denied supporting ISIS and claimed the drone was for his own research. His lawyer, Alistair Webster, stated in August that Al-Bared was gathering information on ISIS in order to debate its views and persuade others not to use violence.
Webster added, “He accepts he is fascinated by Islamic State and its mindset, but rather than supporting it, he wanted to argue against it, in the mosque, online.”
The police, on the other hand, refuted this claim, claiming that they discovered records of al-Bared researching how to get his drone sent to a war zone. Authorities also claimed that he set up a bogus company in order to travel abroad while pretending to do business.
“He had researched chemical weapons including ricin, sarin, and mustard gas. Our assumption is that he intended to deploy the drone and the chemical agents abroad. The defence that he was using his research to de-radicalize people, that was clearly a pack of lies. Clear evidence from our case was that he was intent on causing harm to people.”
– Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne, who leads the counter-terrorism police department in the West Midlands
Prosecutor Michelle Heeley said in court that, “Al-Bared had tried to copy the design of a Tomahawk missile, which is a long-range cruise missile often fired from ships or submarines, and is used by the UK and US military. His drone would have been able to carry a thermos flask with chemical weapons or explosives, and was designed to fly into a crowd or building.”
Heeley added, “It was a prototype being developed, something that could easily be built in the field, by the ‘brothers,’ each drone being sent on its way to kill innocent people.”
Al-Bared is set to be sentenced on November 27.
