Leigh Boobyer, BristolThursday August 6, 2026
Mohamed Mohamoud was arrested after returning to the UK
A 22-year-old man accused of travelling from the UK to Somalia in an attempt to become an Isis martyr told a friend that he no longer saw “dying” as a problem, a court has heard.
Mohamed Mohamoud is standing trial at Winchester Crown Court, charged with preparing acts of terrorism between 1 October 2024 and 5 March 2025.
Naomi Parsons, prosecuting, told jurors on Wednesday that Mohamoud, who is from Somalia, moved to the UK in 2020 to join his mother and brother in Bristol.
The court heard that, before travelling to Somalia in January 2025, Mohamoud exchanged regular messages with a man in the country and discussed meeting him and joining the terrorist group together.
Mohamoud denies the charge.
Jurors previously heard that he travelled to Somalia in January 2025, but returned to the UK on 3 March after failing to make contact with Isis.
The court was shown messages exchanged between Mohamoud and the man, Abu Ladin, 10 days before Mohamoud’s flight to Somalia.
Mohamoud wrote to Ladin: “I did not manage to find someone to guide me yet to help me travel and join the mujahidin. What advice do you have for me? I am leaving and I do not have any plan.”
Ladin responded: “There is no route now, there is a war going on. It can take a month or a year, a route will be found only when the situation settles down.
“My advice to you is speak to the mujahidin and do not trust anyone else.”
Ladin later warned him: “I swear, it is dangerous. You are my brother and I would advise to you stay there.”
The court heard that Mohamoud then sent another message to Ladin, saying: “Today I do not find dying a problem.
“I am not someone who has suffered hardship, I have never even slept hungry one night.”
He also said he believed he would be “punished” for abandoning his plans, adding: “Abandoning jihad is a serious matter.”
Mohamoud, of Francombe Grove in Bristol, is from Puntland State in northern Somalia.
He denies the charge. The trial continues.
