London man Jabed Hussain convicted of terror offences after trying to join Isis in Syria

Police say Hussain was caught on the border between Turkey and Syria

Jabed Hussain has been convicted of two counts of preparing terrorist acts

A man who attempted to join Isis in Syria has been convicted of terrorism.

At the Old Bailey on Thursday, Jabed Hussain, from Acton in London, pleaded guilty to two counts of preparing terrorist acts after being caught on the Turkish border.

The 22-year-old first attempted to reach the so-called Islamic State's strongholds in August 2015 but was detained by Turkish authorities at the border and returned to the UK.

He then changed his name by deed poll to “Ishaq Jabir Hussain” and attempted to apply for a passport in that name to evade the authorities. He was unsuccessful and was arrested for terror offences on 28 April.

Commander Dean Haydon, from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Hussain made a concerted effort to get to Syria and intended to join Isis.

"Changing his name was a poor attempt to evade the authorities which was always destined to fail.”

Hussain will be sentenced on 16 December at the Old Bailey.

Around 800 extremists are known to have travelled from the UK to join Isis in Syria and Iraq, with about half having returned.

They are among thousands of foreign fighters across Europe to join the terrorist group, which has made prominent use of Western militants in gory propaganda videos.

Analysts say the number of jihadis attempting to join Isis in its territories has fallen this year, during an onslaught by government and enemy forces in Iraq and Syria, increased security preventing travel and a shift in the group's messaging to encourage terror attacks on home soil.