British jihadist posed with severed heads in Syria and faked his own death in an attempt to slip back into UK, court told

Imran Khawaja, 27, is awaiting final sentencing for the preparation of terrorist acts and attending a terrorism training camp

Londoner Imran Khawaja posted videos and pictures of his personal jihad online

A British jihadist, who was filmed holding severed heads while in Syria, joined a terrorist training camp before faking his own death and attempted to sneak back into the UK, a court has heard.

Imran Khawaja, 27, not only posed with a picture of the decapitated head to “create propaganda” for Isis (also known as Islamic State) when he was with the Rayat al-Tawheed (RAT) insurgents, but he was also filmed with a bag of the severed heads of people he called “disgusting”.

The jury was shown an extremely graphic video of Khawaja picking up the heads from the back of a flatbed truck and saying: “Heads. Kuffar [non-Muslims]. Disgusting.”

Khawaja has admitted the preparation of terrorist acts and attending a terrorism training camp between January and June last year.

During his sentencing hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in east London prosecutor Brian Altman QC said the 27-year-old had repeatedly lied to his family about when he was coming home before confiding to his sister that he was there “for jihad” and that he wished to die a martyr.

In one text exchange with his sister Azmeena, Khawaja asked her to tell his grief-stricken family he was doing charity work - “driving an ambulance der [Syria] or sumtin” (sic).

Khawaja, who went by the name Abu Daigham al-Baritani and nicknames “Touchi” and “Barbie”, was pictured holding a series of weapons, including a fully automatic assault rifle, and standing on an anti-aircraft gun. In many pictures sent home, Khawaja could be seen pointing skywards. In another, he sent his sister a screenshot of a dead fighter.

Following a series of newspaper articles from 3 June last year reporting on Khawaja’s death, which had been based on RAT claims made on Twitter and Instagram, the court heard how the jihadist made his way back to the UK “hoping to slip in undetected”.

He was picked up by his older cousin Tahir Bhatti in a hire car in Bulgaria, where they attempted to travel to the UK. They were stopped at Dover, claiming to have been on a European road trip.

Bhatti, a taxi business owner from Watford, who has admitted to aiding an offender, later told authorities the real reason the pair were entering the UK, and that Khawaja had always wanted to be a G.I. Joe.”

Asim Ali, a third defendant, who admits funding terrorism by giving Khawaja £300 for his cause, will be sentenced with the two other men on Friday.

Additional reporting by PA