UK pair jailed for joining Syria terror group

The family of one of two men from Birmingham who have been jailed for more than 12 years for joining a Syria terror group have said they are in "complete shock" at his sentence and feel "betrayed" by the police.

Mohammed Ahmed's brother said the family would be appealing his sentence, which consists of 12 years eight months in prison and a further five years on licence.

A judge sentencing two friends from Birmingham to 12 years and eight months in prison for travelling to Syria to join a terror organisation has said the pair were set to commit acts of terrorism.

Speaking at Woolwich Crown Court today, Judge Michael Topolski QC described the pair as "fundementalists who became interested in and deeply committed to extremism"

He told Yusuf Sarwar, a part-time student, and unemployed Mohammed Nahin Ahmed, they had taken "determined steps to prepare and travel to Syria to seek out and engage in armed combat

Childhood friends Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, both 22, from Birmingham, have been given extended sentences of 17 years and eight months at Woolwich Crown Court for travelling to Syria to join an al Qaida-linked terrorist group.

The sentences consist of twelve years eight months in prison and a further five years on licence.

The two pleaded guilty last July to travelling to Syria to join up with an extremist fighting group.

They had spent eight months out of the country after telling their families they were going on a holiday to Turkey.

Officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit arrested the men when they came back to the UK in January.