Danish teen convicted of planning to bomb Jewish school
The 17-year-old girl was inspired by Omar El-Hussein, the terrorist who carried out an attack on a Copenhagen synagogue in 2015 after swearing allegiance to ISIS.
By JTAUpdated: MAY 17, 2017 15:40A Jewish man at a memorial for the victims of the deadly attacks in front of the synagogue in Krystalgade in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Danish court convicted a 17-year-old girl of planning to bomb two schools in Denmark, including a Jewish one, using homemade bombs.The girl, who was not named in the Holbaek District Court on Tuesday because she is a minor, was convicted of “attempting a terrorist act,” which can carry a life sentence, according to reports. She is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.A convert to Islam, the teen reportedly expressed sympathies for the Islamic State in posts on social media.Prosecutors had said she was inspired by Omar El-Hussein, the terrorist who perpetrated an attack against a Copenhagen synagogue in 2015.The unnamed girl adopted El-Hussein’s last name on several occasions, telling the court she did so because she thought he was “tough,” according to the BT newspaper.Following a trip to Turkey, the teen became interested in Islam and converted to the religion upon returning to Denmark, according to the prosecutor. She allegedly attempted to get in contact with the Islamic State terrorist group on the internet.The teen was arrested in 2016 for allegedly planning bombing attacks on the Jewish school in Copenhagen and another school in Denmark. She had acquired chemicals to create the explosives, according to Danish prosecutors.In February 2015, El-Hussein killed a Jewish volunteer guard in a shooting attack during a bat mitzvah celebration at the synagogue. El-Hussein was killed in a shootout with police.Also last month, a Danish imam was reported to the police for giving a sermon in a Copenhagen mosque that cited a teaching calling on Muslims to kill Jews, the BBC reported. Mundhir Abdallah cited the teaching that the Day of Judgement “will not come unless the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them.”Abdallah also said that Muslims will soon fight to liberate Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque “from the filth of the Zionists,” according to the BBC.
