A self-described jihadist who set fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor and later stabbed a garda on a Dublin street while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ told detectives he was inspired by the founder of Isis, Musab al-Zarqawi, and had pledged his allegiance to the terrorist organisation.
A sentencing hearing at the three-judge Special Criminal Court also heard on Monday that 24-year-old Abdullah Khan, who describes himself as a Salafi jihadist, is part of a “wider group of people of a like-minded mindset”.
Det Inspector Gavin Ross of the Garda Special Detective Unit said an investigation is ongoing with lines of inquiry still open.
He said that statements made to gardaí by Khan’s…