UK man convicted of plan to use children in terror plot

LONDON: A London man has been convicted of trying to recruit children to carry out Daesh inspired attacks across the British capital.
Prosecutors said 25-year-old Umar Haque “was fascinated by the warped and extreme ideology” of Daesh and identified multiple attack targets, including Big Ben, Heathrow Airport, banks and shopping centers.
Haque also was accused of radicalizing children at a mosque and two schools, getting them to act out scenarios and showing them beheading videos.
Metropolitan Police counterterrorism commander Dean Haydon said “his aim was to create an army of children.”
Haque had pleaded not guilty and said he supported Daesh but wasn’t serious about launching attacks.
A London jury convicted him Friday of preparing terrorist acts. Two other men were convicted of helping him. All will be sentenced later.