Three Birmingham men have been charged with attempting to leave the UK to join the Islamic State group in Syria. Gabriel Rasmus, Anas Abdalla and Mahamuud Diini were arrested at Dover on 3 April. They are charged with preparing for acts of terrorism between September 2014 and April 2015. Two other men who were arrested at the same time are no longer being held on suspicion of terrorism offences – but are being investigated by immigration officers. A woman who was also arrested faces no further action.
Mr Rasmus, 28, of Lozells, Mr Abdalla, 26, of Acocks Green and Mr Diini, 25, of Small Heath, were found in the back of a lorry at the Port of Dover. Mari Reid of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter-terrorism unit said: “The allegation is that they were attempting to smuggle themselves out of the United Kingdom and travel to Syria or Iraq in order to engage in terrorism.”
