| Shahed, leader of the Al-Muhajiroun organisation in Luton, who claims to command 50 members and 200 supporters, was ambushed by three "moderate" Muslims in the streets. The 28-year-old said he was repeatedly punched and kicked following a public demonstration held in the wake of the deaths of two Luton men in a US bombing raid on Kabul, Afghanistan, where they had gone to fight for the Taliban. "The three attackers were large men. They kept punching and kicking me," he said. "They nearly choked me to death. I was only saved by a barber who witnessed the attack. He turned me on my back and cleared my airways. They left me half-dead." The assault occurred hours after Shahed and 10 supporters proclaimed in a noisy public demonstration that it was every Muslim's duty to fight for the Taliban. The group hailed Afzal Munir and Aftab Manzoor, both 25, who died alongside fellow Taliban volunteer Yasir Khan, from Crawley, as martyrs. (This Is London by Keith Poole) |