terrorist – Faith Matters

Man urged terrorist attack over cartoon ‘mocking Muslims in Gaza’, court hears

Faith Matters — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:29:18 +0000

An alleged Hamas supported encouraged a repeat of the deadly 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack on another French newspaper over a cartoon “mocking Muslims in Gaza”, a court has been told.

Majid Novsarka, also known as Majid Freeman, allegedly shared the drawing published by French paper Liberation on March 11 2024 via his X account – which had more than 58,000 followers at the time, a trial was told.

In that same post, the 37-year-old referred to the terrorist attack against French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which was carried out in retaliation for the newspaper’s irreverent caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

Novsarka posted about the cartoon again the following day on Instagram, saying: “France’s left-wing newspaper Liberation published a cartoon mocking Muslims fasting in Gaza, who are being starved to death by Israel in Ramadan…” jurors sitting at Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Tom Williams, opening the trial on Wednesday, said: “The defendant’s Instagram post shows a larger version of the cartoon, with a Muslim man in Gaza chasing two rats and being told by a woman with a child sitting next to her not to do so ‘before sunset’, as Ramadan has begun, the ‘start of a month of fasting’.”

Mr Williams added: “The defendant identifies a cartoon in a French newspaper which is arguably offensive to Muslims, and in the same post, he identifies that when Charlie Hebdo did the same thing almost 10 years before, people who worked at the magazine were shot and killed.

“What did he want his followers to take from his Twitter post? He wanted them, the prosecution suggest, to do the same.

“There is, if you think about it, no other sensible explanation for deliberately putting these two things in exactly the same post.”

The post on X included a video of the attack “showing the two killers firing their weapons, dressed all in black, at one point shouting something about ‘the prophet Mohammed’, and then driving off in a black car,” Mr Williams told the court.

In his Instagram post, Novsarka also identified the cartoonist Corinne Rey, adding: “Liberation is owned by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi,” the court heard.

Jurors were told Novsarka’s X account had 58,500 followers at the time of the alleged offence, which made him “somebody with significant influence online”.

Novsarka, whom prosecution alleges has been a supporter of Hamas since at least May 2021, is also accused of inviting support for the proscribed organisation in posts and messages on Twitter, Instagram and Telegram.

Jurors were provided with a timeline which contained more than 200 entries, including a link the defendant allegedly shared on a WhatsApp group in December 2023 which led to a Hamas recruitment post.

In another post dated December 31 2023, Novsarka allegedly shared a video of Hamas firing rockets at Tel Aviv saying “Happy new year from Hamas to Israel”.

The video itself seems to have come from Hamas, Mr Williams told jurors.

Novsarka was arrested on July 9 2024 by police officers from Counter Terrorism East Midlands at his home address in Leicester.

He was interviewed under caution but made no comments, the court heard.

He denies one count of encouraging terrorism under section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, one count of inviting support for Hamas under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and a third alternative count of expressing support for a proscribed organisation.

The Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack on January 7 2015 took place at the offices of the magazine in Paris, where 12 people, including some of France’s most beloved cartoonists, were shot dead.

The massacre was carried out by two brothers claiming allegiance to Al Qaeda and signalled the beginning of a wave of extremist violence in France, culminating in the co-ordinated November 2015 attacks and the Bataclan atrocity.

Neo-Nazi teenager snared by MI5 as he tried to buy gun for attack, court told

Faith Matters — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:40:16 +0000

A neo-Nazi teenager was snared by MI5 as he attempted to buy a gun for a terrorist attack, a court has heard.

Alfie Coleman was aged 19 when armed police swooped to arrest him outside a Morrisons supermarket in Stratford, east London, on September 29 2023.

Lunchtime shoppers bore witness to the “shocking scene” when three men pointed stun guns as Coleman as he walked across the car park carrying a bag, jurors heard on Wednesday.

Nicholas De La Poer KC said the bag contained what appeared to be a handgun and around 200 rounds of ammunition.

Counter-terrorism officers knew what he was carrying because “they had sold them to him”, the prosecutor said.

The arrest was the culmination of “persistent” efforts by Coleman to get hold of a gun, including contacting people online, the Old Bailey was told.

Mr De La Poer told jurors: “Unbeknownst to him, Mr Coleman had been talking to several undercover operatives over the previous months, as he sought to purchase a firearm via encrypted messaging platforms.

“This had culminated in MI5 undercover operatives agreeing to sell a firearm and the bullets to Mr Coleman. The arrangement made was for the supply of a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

“Mr Coleman was told these items would be in a Land Rover Discovery parked in the Morrisons car park. He left £3,500 in cash in the front passenger seat footwell and collected the bag containing the items from the boot.

“Before he had gone 30 yards, Mr Coleman was confronted by armed officers and he was arrested.”

The prosecutor said Coleman harboured an extreme right-wing ideology and was planning to use the gun in a terrorist attack.

He “idolised” the likes of Thomas Mair, who murdered MP Jo Cox, and believed in white supremacy and neo-Nazism, the court was told.

He collected a number of terrorist documents, carried out online research and wrote a manifesto, it was alleged.

Mr De La Poer said: “The prosecution’s case is that Mr Coleman engaged in conversation on encrypted social media platforms such as Wire and Telegram with people whom he thought were sympathetic to his views.

“And it was through such people that Mr Coleman sought to buy a firearm. A mission which led him to the Morrisons car park in Stratford on the morning of September 29.”

The court was told of an alleged earlier first attempt at writing down an attack plan dating back to June 2022, a week before he turned 18.

In it, Coleman allegedly identified his target as the “Mayor of London house” and included the postcode for the Lord Mayor’s residence, jurors heard.

In a section headed “weapons I can get easy”, he allegedly listed “knives” and “crossbows”, the court heard.

In September 2022, Coleman allegedly wrote a list on his phone with offensive language next to a number of vehicle number plates.

Jurors were told Coleman was working at Tesco at the time and however he presented himself at work was “seething with hatred on the inside”.

Mr De La Poer said the phrase “race traitor” was written beside some of the number plates, including that of a white female co-worker.

The court heard Coleman had pleaded guilty to possession of 10 documents useful to terrorists, attempting to possess both a firearm – which had been deactivated – and ammunition.

Coleman, now aged 21, of Great Notley in Essex, has denied preparing acts of terrorism.

The Old Bailey trial continues.

Man who went to Syria guilty of joining al Qaida-linked group

Faith Matters — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 14:44:32 +0000

A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad.

Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into war-torn Syria in August 2015.

Despite pleas from his family, Giga did not return to the UK for nine years and was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Turkey last May.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts between August 31 2015 and August 31 2016 by travelling to Syria to fight with the Jaysh Al Fath groups.

The court heard how Giga had left the home he shared with his parents and sister in Hounslow, west London, in August 2015 and informed them he had gone to Syria for jihad.

On September 11 2015 – the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States – he told his sister: “I have come here to fight for jihad. I’m based in Idlib province and I fight for Jaysh al Fath which is the rebel coalition which includes the Free Syrian Army up to al Qaida-linked groups.

“I have come here to fight against (Bashar) Assad and also to fight against Isis. I can’t sit at home when fellow Muslims are in need and their religion is in danger.”

His father responded: “Please don’t do anything that will break my or your mother’s or family’s heart, stay within the bounds of true Islam and humanity, stay away from extremism and follow the Sunnah.”

But in a further message to his sister, Giga said he had finished his training and had been given the “opportunity to fight on the front line in the near future”.

He told her: “I hope more than anything to gain martyrdom while fighting against Isis or against the Assad regime but I fear death as much as anyone else so I am in need of your duas (prayers).”

The court heard that Giga’s father did everything he could to try to convince his son to return home and travelled to Reyhanli, a small Turkish town close to the Syrian border.

In a letter to Giga from the border, he wrote: “I have promısed your mum that somehow I will try my best to convince you to come out of there, and we will settle down anywhere in this world where you feel comfortable and happy…

“Can you for one minute imagine what the rest of her life will be like if something was to happen to you? Isa, her life wıll be destroyed and so will all of ours.

“It is on that basis I beg you to stay safe and come out of there immediately. And stay away from the front line because the Russians are using all kınds of firepower.”

However, Giga appeared to be set on “martyrdom”, the court heard.

Then in December 2015, Giga told his sister that he planned on doing charity work – although the organisation concerned had no record of it – and by August 2016 contact with his family petered out.

Eight years later, Giga was issued an emergency passport by the British Consulate in Istanbul.

Police were waiting when Giga arrived at Heathrow Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 23 2024.

Following his arrest, Giga made no comment in police interviews but in a prepared statement denied he had travelled to Syria to fight or join any groups.

He claimed he had lied to his family about doing charity work, training, fighting and joining groups because he thought they would struggle to understand the idea of going there simply to live.

Giving evidence in his Old Bailey trial, Giga maintained that he had gone to Syria only to live in an Islamic state.

A jury deliberated for 10 hours and 26 minutes to reject his version of events and find him guilty by a majority of 11 to one.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing to October 17.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We have been clear for some time now that anyone returning to the UK suspected of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas will be thoroughly investigated.

“We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.

“As this case shows, we will always arrest those who return to the UK after fighting for a terrorist group, no matter how long it has been since they left the country.”

Britain’s youngest terrorist can be freed from jail, says Parole Board

Faith Matters — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 13:58:16 +0000

Britain’s youngest terrorist – who plotted to murder police officers in Australia on Anzac Day – can be freed from jail, the Parole Board has ruled.

The 20-year-old, from Blackburn, Lancashire, who can only be identified as RXG, sent encrypted messages instructing an Australian jihadist to launch attacks during a 2015 parade.

He was jailed for life in October 2015 after admitting inciting terrorism overseas.

In a document detailing the decision, the Parole Board said: “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in detention, and the evidence presented at the hearings, the panel was satisfied that RXG was suitable for release.”

At the age of just 14, the teenager took on the role of “organiser and adviser” and suggested beheading or using a car to kill officers during the annual April 25 commemoration of Australians and New Zealanders killed in conflict, which that year marked the centenary of the First World War battle in Gallipoli.

After being recruited online by Islamic State propagandist Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, over nine days RXG sent thousands of messages to 18-year-old Sevdet Besim, instructing him to kill police officers at the remembrance parade in Melbourne.

Australian police were alerted to the plot after British officers discovered material on the teenager’s phone.

The Parole Board cleared him to leave prison at his first review after he became eligible for release in October.

But the body said he will be subject to strict licence conditions, including having to live at a designated address, wearing an electronic tag and attending supervision appointments as well as adhering to restrictions on his movements, contacting people and using technology.

This plan is considered “robust enough to manage RXG in the community”, according to the decision papers.

The Parole Board said it could only direct release if it was “satisfied that it was no longer necessary for the protection of the public that RXG remained confined in prison”.

Two hearings took place, in September and earlier this month, before the decision was made, during which RXG said he hoped he would be freed.

As well as hearing evidence from RXG, the panel also considered submissions from his lawyer, probation officer, other officials, an imam, psychologists and psychiatrists.

According to the Parole Board document, at the time of his offending “risk factors” he displayed included “not coping well with feelings of anger, being manipulative, not being open and honest with people, his lack of maturity, obsessional behaviour, the influence on him of associates, unhelpful beliefs and extremist views, his radicalisation and his affiliation with ISIS”.

He was diagnosed with autism in 2017 and while behind bars has worked to “address his offending behaviour, his understanding of Islam and to develop his level of maturity”.

The document said witnesses had described the “considerable progress that had been made” and had recommended RXG be released, adding: “No one at the hearing considered there to be a need for further time within the custodial estate.”

His identity will remain a secret for the rest of his life after a High Court ruling last year.

Granting RXG lifelong anonymity, Dame Victoria Sharp said identifying him was likely to cause him “serious harm” and it was therefore necessary for the rare step – taken in only a small number of cases.

Only a handful of similar orders have been made, including those granted to Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who murdered Liverpool toddler James Bulger, and child killer Mary Bell.

Prison officer tells jurors how he fought off convicted terrorist Brusthom Ziamani

Faith Matters — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 13:31:02 +0000

A prison officer has described how he fended off repeated stabbing blows to the head after being floored in an alleged terror attack.

Neil Trundle was left covered in blood from multiple cuts after convicted terrorist Brusthom Ziamani, 25, and fellow inmate Baz Hockton, 26, allegedly assaulted him with makeshift weapons at Whitemoor jail in Cambridgeshire.

Jurors at the Old Bailey have heard two female members of staff were also injured by Ziamani when they tried to intervene in the onslaught on Mr Trundle on the morning of January 9.

Ziamani, who has a previous conviction for plotting an attack on a soldier, and Hockton are on trial accused of attempted murder.

The prosecution has alleged the defendants launched the attack for a terrorist purpose.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Mr Trundle said he had never had any problems with Ziamani before.

He said: “There had been no confrontation or cross words, no indication that there was going to be any issues between us.”

When Ziamani asked him if he could replace a broken spoon, Mr Trundle went to unlock a store cupboard, followed by the defendants.

Mr Trundle said: “I could see one in my peripheral view to the side as I unlocked the door.

“Before I knew it I was on the floor on my back. I wasn’t sure how I ended up on the floor. I did not know what position I was in but I was on the floor and I was being attacked.”

Mr Trundle, who has been a prison officer for more than 14 years, said he raised his arms to protect his face and called for help.

“I felt pressure on my body as if people were lying on my body. I could feel stabs, especially to my head at this precise moment. I could still feel little bits of stinging.

“I did not know who was on me or how many was on me but I did notice when that person or persons left. I noticed when they came back again and attacked me a second time.

“I did not see any weapons. I could feel blows coming down on me.

“During the attack I was laying on my back and I was trying to kick out. The kicking out made it more difficult for them.”

He added: “I did not realise how bad the damage was to myself until I went to the hospital and looked in the mirror.”

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the incident, which was briefly interrupted when two female staff members attempted to intervene and were assaulted by Ziamani.

Prison officer Georgina Ibbotson told jurors she feared for her life when “hyped up” Ziamani came at her.

Ms Ibbotson said she never had any trouble with him before, adding that he spent a lot of time with Hockton “one to one”.

Earlier on January 9, Ms Ibbotson said Ziamani had also asked her to fetch a spoon from the store cupboard which gave her a “gut feeling”.

She said: “It just made me feel uncomfortable – it made me feel like it was something I did not want to do.”

Later when she heard the alarm, she said: “I saw two men standing in front of me – Mr Ziamani and Mr Hockton both holding weapons.

“I could just see they had something in their hands and were holding it with clenched fists.

“They were really hyped up and full of adrenalin, quite intimidating.

“I put my hands out and just said ‘whoa’. Mr Ziamani tried to step forward so I put my hands to my belt.

“Mr Ziamani punched me in the face. It was as hard as he could. It was really like a big shock, mostly. I fell to my knees.”

When she got up, she noticed nurse Jayne Cowles on the floor “looking shocked”.

Ms Ibbotson said she then headed towards the store cupboard, planning to lock herself in.

She said: “I could feel the blood dripping down my face. I did not know how bad my injuries were. I feared for my life.”

Ziamani and Hockton have denied the attempted murder of Mr Trundle.

They are also accused of an alternative charge of wounding with intent, which Hockton has admitted.

Ziamani has admitted assaulting Ms Ibbotson and Ms Cowles.

Brothers to face trial over terror plot

Faith Matters — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 13:06:58 +0000

Two brothers are to face trial in January for their alleged involvement in a terror plot.

Sahayb Abu is accused of plotting an extremist attack in the UK, while his brother Mohammed is accused of failing to inform police of his sibling’s intentions.

Sahayb, 27, of Doyle Road in South Norwood, south-east London, was arrested in July after allegedly purchasing or attempting to purchase items for use in terrorism.

The Metropolitan Police previously said Sahayb was bitten on the foot by a police dog during the raid.

He is charged with engaging in the preparation of terrorist acts on or before July 9 this year, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Mohammed, 20, of Mayfield Road in Dagenham, east London, faces a charge of failing to disclose information likely to assist in a terrorist investigation.

Prosecutor Kiernan Cunningham QC told the Old Bailey: “Sahayb Abu was planning a terrorist act in this country; the prosecution argue that his brother had information about that attack and was in a position to provide that to the police.”

He asked for the cases to be tried together, saying the charges are “intrinsically linked”.

Mr Justice Sweeney listed the brothers’ trial for January 25 next year and they are due back in court for a plea hearing on November 23.

They are both being held in custody.

U.K.: Briton jailed for life over plot to kill Prime Minister

Faith Matters — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 16:43:25 +0000

A British man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday over a plot to kill Prime Minister Theresa May by first detonating an explosive device to get into her Downing Street office and then using a knife or a gun to attack her.

Naa’imur Rahman, 21, of north London, planned to detonate an improvised explosive device at the heavily guarded gates of Downing Street and gain access to May’s office in the ensuing chaos and assassinate her, according to police.

He was convicted last month of preparing to commit acts of terrorism and at London’s Old Bailey court on Friday was given a life prison and will serve 30 years behind bars.

“Rahman’s target was the prime minister but he had no qualms about killing innocent bystanders in the process of reaching her,” said Dean Haydon, the UK’s Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism.

“At one point he told a covert counter terrorism officer that even if he could not reach the Prime Minister, he just wanted to strike fear into people.”

As he put the plot together, Rahman believed he was corresponding online with members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group. However, he was actually talking to undercover officers from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Britain’s MI5 domestic spy agency.

He was arrested last November shortly after unwittingly meeting an undercover police officer and collecting what he believed was a homemade bomb but was in fact a harmless replica.

After his conviction in July, police said Rahman had been in contact with an uncle who had travelled to Syria and joined IS and who had encouraged his nephew to carry out attacks in Britain.

Rahman had been planning to carry out the attack for two years but his resolve was hardened when he heard that his uncle had been killed in a drone attack.

Britain is on its second highest threat level with an attack considered highly likely. Last year, there were four deadly attacks and the head of MI5 said in May that a further 12 Islamist plots had been foiled since the first of these in March 2017.

Earlier this month, a man was charged with attempted murder after a car careered into people and a barrier at London’s parliament, with police saying the incident was being treated as an act of terrorism.

Paris knife attacker was French citizen born in Chechnya

Faith Matters — Sun, 13 May 2018 17:25:07 +0000

An attacker who stabbed and killed a 29-year-old in central Paris on Saturday (May 12) night was a naturalised Frenchman born in Russia’s Chechnya region in 1997, judicial sources said on Sunday. Rough cut (no reporter narration).

The aftermath of a fatal attack on Paris on Saturday night (12 May).

A 29-year-old man was killed and four others are wounded by an attacker who shouted ‘Allahu akbar’ as he stabbed his victims.

He was then shot dead by police.

Judicial sources say the assailant was born in Russia’s Chechnya region but had obtained French citizenship.

His parents are being held for questioning by police, a source said.

A government spokesperson said the attacker was categorized as a ‘fiche S,’ an indication used by officials to flag people who may be a threat to national security.

The Islamic State says it was behind the attack, without providing evidence.

France has been on high alert following a string of attacks over the past three years, the deadliest of which was in Paris in November 2015 when 130 people were killed on attacks targeting the city’s nightlife.

An onlooker at the scene, Sarah Gousse, said:

“I was in the kitchen, I was bringing food out and then we heard gun fire, two gun shots, we didn’t know if it was the police or if it was someone else and I dropped to the floor and I felt like I was there for like five minutes, and the whole restaurant, we all dropped to the floor and so the customers in the window and then we just kind of stayed on the floor for a while.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said France would “not yield an inch to the enemies of freedom,” praising and praised police for “neutralizing the terrorist”.

Paris attacks suspect jailed for 20 years for Belgian attempted murder

Faith Matters — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 10:56:27 +0000

A Belgian court sentenced Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam and a co-accused to 20 years in prison on Monday for trying to kill police during a shootout in Brussels in 2016.

Judge Marie-France Keutgen told the courtroom that 28-year-old Abdeslam and Tunisian Sofien Ayari, 24, had been found guilty of “attempted terrorist murder” during the shootout in March 2016.

Abdeslam is in a French prison awaiting trial for his role in the Islamic State attacks in Paris in November 2015 in which 130 people were killed. Prosecutors say he is the lone survivor of a suicide squad.

Neither he nor Ayari, who is in custody in Belgium, was present for the judgement.

Despite the absence of both accused, security was tight around the Brussels court, with heavily armed police on guard.

By the time of the shootout in the Brussels district of Forest on March 15, 2016, Abdeslam had been in hiding for four months after fleeing Paris the night his elder brother blew himself up at a cafe.

Prosecutors who accuse Abdeslam of helping organise the attacks and ferry former fighters from Syria around Europe say he, too, would have died if his suicide vest had not failed to detonate. His lawyers do not dispute Abdeslam was in Paris during the attacks.

They finally stumbled across him when, with French officers, they went to inspect a suspect apartment in Forest and then came under a hail of gunfire which wounded four of them.

After a three-hour siege ended with marksmen killing a 35-year-old Algerian called Mohamed Belkaid, police found an arms cache.

Abdeslam’s DNA found at the scene linked him to the shootout and that led to his arrest three days later in a different apartment in Brussels.

Four days after his arrest, suicide bombers attacked Brussels Airport and the city’s metro, killing 32 people. Officials believe Abdeslam had links with the bombers and that they brought forward their attack because they feared Abdeslam might reveal their plans under interrogation.

Abdeslam was present on the opening day of the trial, but refused to answer the judge’s questions.

His lawyer Sven Mary told reporters on Monday that he discuss the case with his client before determining whether to appeal.

Pope Speaks out Against the Deadly Blast in Egypt

Faith Matters — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:22:25 +0000

Pope Francis condemned a deadly blast at a church in Egypt and said at a Palm Sunday Mass that the world was suffering from wars, terrorism and “interests that are armed and ready to strike”.

Francis, who has not made any direct public comment on the current Middle East crisis, said the Mass as international tensions increased following the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base, which the Pentagon says was involved in a chemical weapons attack that killed 87 people.

While the pope, who is due to visit Egypt April 28-29, was celebrating the Mass for tens of thousands of people, the Vatican received word of the blast that killed at least 21 people and injured 50 in a Coptic church in the Nile Delta.

“I pray for the dead and the victims. May the Lord convert the hearts of people who sow terror, violence and death and even the hearts of those who produce and traffic in weapons,” he said in hastily prepared comments at the end. The blast was the latest assault on a religious minority that has increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants, and there have been deep security concerns over the pope’s trip.

Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week that culminates on Easter Sunday, commemorates the day Christians believe Jesus entered Jerusalem and was welcomed as the messiah, only to be crucified five days later.

Francis, marking the fifth Easter season of his pontificate, blessed palm and olive branches in the centre of St. Peter’s Square before saying Mass.

“He (Jesus) is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own: they suffer from slave labour, from family tragedies, from diseases,” he said.

“They suffer from wars and terrorism, from interests that are armed and ready to strike. Women and men who are cheated, violated in their dignity, discarded,” he added.

Before the U.S. missile strike, Francis said he was horrified by the suspected chemical weapons attack, calling it an “unacceptable massacre” of innocent civilians.

Allies of the United States have expressed support for Washington’s actions, calling them a proportionate response to Syrian forces’ suspected use of chemical weapons. But they were denounced as illegal by Syria and its allies Russia and Iran.

Palm Sunday marks the start of a hectic week for the Pope, who on Thursday he visits a prison south of Rome to wash and kiss the feet of 12 inmates, commemorating Jesus’ gesture of humility towards his apostles the night before he died.

Previous popes held the service either at the Vatican or a Rome basilica but Francis changed the tradition to stress the importance of going to the poor, the sick and the imprisoned.

He has drawn ultra-traditionalist ire for including Muslims and women in a service previously limited to Catholic men.