A doctoral student appeared in a UK court Wednesday facing allegations of applying to join ISIS and building a drone capable of carrying a bomb for the terror organization, the BBC reported.
Mohamad Al-Bared, 26, a mechanical engineering graduate and student at the University of Birmingham, was arrested in January during a raid on the home he shared with his parents in Coventry, the BBC report noted. The drone reportedly was found in his bedroom. Other devices seized included a 3-D printer allegedly capable of making drone parts. (RELATED: Florida Man Gets 18 Years After Buying Guns, Plotting Attacks To Aid ISIS)
Birmingham University student Mohamad Al-Bared ‘plotted to supply IS with bomb delivery drone’ https://t.co/oTLBQfciF6
— Steve Stalinsky PhD (@SteveStalinsky) August 23, 2023
“It had all the components required for it to fly,” prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said of the drone, per the report. “We suggest it was being manufactured to deliver a bomb… to fly into IS enemy territory and deliver a chemical weapon or some other kind of device.”
Heeley also alleged that Al-Bared had written on an electronic device that referenced fuses, mechanical detonators, and an “explosive” head and that the drone’s design was “somewhat inspired by the design of the Tomahawk missile,” per the report. She reportedly believed that Al-Bared was “reporting back to someone about what it is that he is doing” and added that “[t]he only reasonable conclusion you can reach is you can be sure that he was preparing for acts of terrorism.”
Al-Bared also established a UK-registered travel company, per the report.
Al-Bared reportedly denied the allegations. The trial is ongoing.