British jihadists call for revenge after student murder
BRITISH jihadists last night demanded revenge for the murder of a Saudi Arabian student in Essex.
Nahid Almanea, 31, was stabbed to death as she walked along a footpath in Colchester. She was found bleeding to death at 10.40am on Tuesday.
Police believe she may have been killed because she was wearing Islamic clothing.
She was wearing a navy blue robe called an abaya, and a patterned multi-coloured hijab headscarf. In response a British jihadist tweeted: “I call upon any brother to take up a knife and kill as they did Colchester.”
A 52-year-old man from Colchester was arrested on Tuesday and is still being questioned by detectives
Detective Superintendent Tracy Hawkings said: “We are conscious that the dress of the victim will have identified her as likely being a Muslim and this is one of the main lines of the investigation but there is no firm evidence that she was targeted because of her religion.”
Officers are also looking at possible links with the unsolved murder of James Attfield, a vulnerable man with brain damage, who died after being stabbed more than 100 times in a park in the town in March.
Staff at the University of Essex, where Ms Almanea studied, said today they were “devastated”.
Richard Barnard, head of the International Academy, said: “Nahid was a very hard-working and conscientious student. She will be greatly missed.”
A 52-year-old man from Colchester was arrested on Tuesday and is still being questioned by detectives.