United Kingdom: Manchester synagogue attacker claimed allegiance to Islamic State
The attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, called the emergency services during Thursday's attack to pledge allegiance to the terrorist group. It was also learned that he had three wives, two of whom were female converts to Islam.
The terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie
The assailant in last week's attack on a synagogue in Manchester, which resulted in the deaths of two congregants of the Jewish community, claimed allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group (IS), according to a statement from British authorities.
The attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, called emergency services during Thursday's attack to swear allegiance to the terrorist group, so reported the anti-terrorist police in a statement.
"Minutes after the first call was made to GMP and as firearms officers were making their way to the scene, Al-Shamie called 999 claiming responsibility for the attack. He also pledged allegiance to Islamic State."
Opinion
Those calling for ‘globalizing the intifada’ have more blood on their hands
Jonathan S. Tobin
A tragedy on Yom Kippur
The 35-year-old terrorist was gunned down by police outside the Heaton Park Congregation synagogue after ramming his car into several pedestrians, attacking them with a knife and attempting to force his way into the synagogue.
Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, both members of the congregation, were killed during the attack on Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Three other men have been hospitalized with serious injuries.
According to police, Daulby was accidentally shot by an armed officer as he and other members of the congregation took refuge into the synagogue to block Al-Shamie's access.
Manchester synagogue terrorist was polygamous
The attacker had three wives, according to recent reports. Al-Shamie was married to a British Pakistani, with whom he had three children. According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, while still married, he married a white convert who worked as an NHS nurse.
On the other hand, his third wife said the couple married in an Islamic ceremony online in January 2022 after meeting on the Muslim dating app Muzz, formerly known as Muzmatch.
The woman described him as a "vile" man who hid his other relationships from her and controlled her during their "intermittent" relationship. "He told me that before we had a relationship we had to be married," the girl told the Manchester Evening News.
Text messages, accessed by The Telegraph, show al-Shamie claiming he was entitled to have "up to four wives" under Islamic law when she confronted him about his first wife.
LATEST
