Homeless man, 50, who sparked terror alert on Manchester train by ‘making violent threats about 9/11 and the Taliban’ then told police he was Osama Bin Laden is jailed for 18 months
- Mohammed Khalil Khan, 50, boarded a train at Manchester Victoria and began ‘making threats to commit future acts of violence’, court heard
- He sparked alarm on the Clitheroe-bound train after he made comments about 9/11 terror attack, the Taliban and cutting people’s heads off
- Khan jailed after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in a public place
A homeless man who sparked a terror alert onboard a Manchester train by making violent threats about 9/11 and the Taliban before telling police he was Osama Bin Laden has been jailed for 18 months.
Mohammed Khalil Khan, 50, boarded a train at Manchester Victoria and began ‘making threats to commit future acts of violence’, a court heard.
Khan sparked alarm amongst passengers by making comments about the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Taliban, as well as cutting people’s heads off.
He was jailed for 18 months at Preston Crown Court today after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in a public place.
Mohammed Khalil Khan, 50, boarded a train at Manchester Victoria and began ‘making threats to commit future acts of violence’, a court heard
Khan had boarded a train at Manchester Victoria station heading to Clitheroe, Lancashire, on August 9 2021.
A member of staff was alerted by a passenger to Khalil making threats to commit acts of violence and making comments about the atrocities of 9/11 and the Taliban.
The member of staff followed the passenger to the carriage that Khan was occupying before returning to the front of the train to call 999.
The train stopped at Darwen where the suspect was met by a team of officers, with passengers being ushered from the train to safety.
The station was locked down and the railway line closed for several hours.
Khan was then detained where he verbally abused officers and became aggressive.
The road by Darwen Railway Station was closed on August 9 2021 as the army bomb disposal squad carried out X-rays of bags belonging to Khan
Following a search of a bag that Khan was in possession of a knife was found and he was arrested.
At an earlier court hearing, Blackburn magistrates were told the railway line was closed for several hours as the army bomb disposal squad carried out X-rays of bags belonging to Khan.
He had made comments about the New York World Trade Center terror attack on the train and later told police he was Osama Bin Laden.
A passenger approached the train guard shortly after the train had left Bolton station and reported concerns over the comments being made by Khan. He also said he could see wires coming from one of the bags.
Shortly after another passenger reported hearing Khan saying he was going to cut people’s heads off.
The police carried out controlled explosions after Khan was arrested at Darwen station
Detective Chief Inspector, Kay Dennison, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: This was a terrifying incident for the passengers to be stuck on a moving train with Khan making such concerning threats.
‘His behaviour led to the train station where he was detained being closed off as a precaution, causing widespread disruption and a sense of panic in the local area.
‘Khan’s behaviour was frankly very worrying and completely unacceptable to cause fear in a public place.
‘I’d like to thank the members of the public who reported Khan and offered to be witnesses and the train staff for their quick action in alerting police.’
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