First Response

INTERVIEW WITH MOHAMED OSMAN (10.20 p.m.)

‘When that poor man was blown up, I was so sure I was going to die,’ said Mohamed Osman. ‘Shahid killed him without a second thought, as if he was no more than an animal.’ He shuddered. ‘May Allah rest his soul in peace.’

‘And why was this man killed?’ asked Kamran.

‘He said he wouldn’t do what Shahid wanted, sir. Shahid said we had to obey him, and that if we didn’t, we would die too.’

‘What about the trigger you were holding?’

‘Shahid said the trigger would not work, sir. He said the only way the bomb could be detonated was by the phone he carried. Sir, check the bomb for yourself, you will see that I am telling the truth.’

‘Which mosque do you attend, Mohamed?’

‘I do not go to the mosque to pray, sir. I sometimes pray with my family at home.’

‘Why do you not go to the mosque?’

‘It is not our way, sir. And the mosques near us are not for Somalians.’

‘The mosques are for all Muslims,’ said Kamran.

Osman forced a smile. ‘That is what they say, sir. But the Pakistanis at our local mosques do not make us welcome.’

‘And how do you feel about ISIS?’

Osman frowned. ‘How do I feel, sir? What do you mean?’

‘Are you sympathetic to their aims?’

Osman shook his head. ‘Oh, no, sir. I lived in Somalia before I moved to England. I have seen that violence solves nothing.’ He reached up to touch the wicked scar that ran across his left cheek. ‘When I was a child, robbers came to our house. They did this to me to force my father to hand over everything we had. My family came here to escape violence. That is the wonderful thing about England. Here we all live together in peace.’ He grimaced. ‘That is what I thought, anyway. Until today. I did not think that something like this would ever happen to me. Not in England.’ He shuddered again. ‘Do you think you will catch this man, sir? Do you think you will make this Shahid pay for his crimes?’

‘I certainly hope so, Mr Osman.’

Osman nodded enthusiastically. ‘I hope so too, sir. That is one of the great things about this country. There is justice for all.’