Racist student knifed Muslim to death and left bombs at mosques

Pavlo Lapshyn, 25, a postgraduate student from Dnipropetrovsk, in Ukraine, fatally stabbed Mohammed Saleem three times in the back just yards from his home in Birmingham on April 29.

The trained engineer then launched a systematic bombing campaign using a type of explosive which had been used to deadly effect by the July 7 bombers in London.

He planted devices near three mosques and had sufficient materials for other bombs when police arrested him in July.

Yesterday he appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to murdering Mohammed Saleem and causing an explosion on July 12 near the Kanzal Iman mosque in Tipton. He also admitted engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts between April 24 and July 18 this year. This included planting bombs near mosques in Walsall and Wolverhampton, researching locations to plant bombs and buying chemicals on the internet to make explosives.

Lapshyn will be sentenced on Friday.

The Ukrainian was in the UK on a sponsored work placement at a software firm in the Small Heath area of Birmingham when he was arrested on suspicion of Mr Saleem’s murder on July 20.

No one was injured by any of the explosions but police said it was only a matter of time before he would have killed again.

In his first attack he put his small explosive device in a child’s lunchbox, but in the attack in Tipton, he had packed more than half a kilo of nails around the explosive and timed it to detonate during Friday prayers when up to 1,000 worshippers would have been present. His plan failed, however, as prayers had been put back a hour that day because of Ramadan.

Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “All three of the devices he detonated were powerful but his final attack in Tipton was the first to feature shrapnel and nails. He placed this near the mosque’s car park with the intention of hitting worshippers as they arrived for prayers. Thankfully the service had been put back an hour so the mosque was largely deserted when the bomb went off.”

Speaking outside the court, Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said Lapshyn was not part of a wider extremist group.

“He’s a dangerous, evil and completely ill-informed man,” he added.

“There is no justification for the crimes he committed or the intent that he has.

“He was operating alone, he was a lone actor.”

Lapshyn had only been in the country for a few days when he struck and had calmly transported the devices by bus.

The investigation revealed the PhD student had forensically cleaned the components of his bombs meaning there was no DNA or fingerprints on the fragments and police traced him through evidence gained through CCTV obtained after the first attack.

In interview he told officers he had targeted Mr Saleem because he had a “racial hatred” of non-whites and following his initial arrest for planting the device outside the Walsall mosque, he said “I would like to increase racial conflict.”

Speaking outside court, Mr Saleem’s daughter Shazia Khan said: “Our dad was a lovely, kind man who left prayers for the last time that night. He did not do anything to deserve this horrific killing other than being a Muslim.

“He was targeted simply because of his faith.”