Inquiry Finds Police Failures Enabled Rochdale Islamic State Imam Murder

A public inquiry has found that a "serious blunder" by police and intelligence services led to missed opportunities to disrupt the 2016 murder of Jalal Uddin, a 71-year-old imam in Rochdale, who was killed by Islamic State extremists because he practised a form of Islamic healing regarded by the group as "black magic." Mohammed Kadir, the main attacker, had been identified as a high-risk individual by counter-terrorism police months before the murder, but a targeted investigation was never launched due to the failure to appoint a senior investigating officer, despite a potential candidate being available within the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. This failure resulted in lost chances to scrutinize Kadir's extremist social media posts and other suspicious activities that might have prevented the attack. Kadir fled to Syria after the killing, while his accomplice, Mohammed Syeedy, was jailed for life and a third man, Mohammed Syadul Hussain, was sentenced for helping Kadir escape. The inquiry, chaired by His Honour Thomas Teague KC, involved both public and closed hearings to protect national security, and its report was laid before Parliament. Counter Terrorism Policing North West expressed regret for the tragedy and affirmed readiness to act if Kadir returns to the UK.