Two British-born, al-Qaida-inspired extremists who considered themselves "soldiers of Allah" were convicted Thursday of murdering an off-duty serviceman who was run down with a car and stabbed to death in a frenzied attack on a London street.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for just 90 minutes before finding Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale guilty of murdering Fusilier Lee Rigby. They were acquitted of attempting to murder a police officer.

The two men will be sentenced early next year.

Neither defendant reacted as the jury foreman announced the verdicts. Adebolajo, at 29 the elder of the two, smiled and kissed a copy of the Quran as he was led down to the cells.

Members of Rigby's family stood in tears outside London's Central Criminal Court as a police officer read out a statement on their behalf.

"We are satisfied that justice has been done," the statement said. "But unfortunately no amount of justice will bring Lee back."

Adebolajo and 22-year-old Adebowale had pleaded not guilty to murder, though neither denied taking part in the May 22 attack.

The 25-year-old Rigby, a member of the Royal Fusiliers who had served in Afghanistan, was returning on foot to his barracks in south London when he was hit by the car being driven by Adebolajo. As the soldier lay on the ground, Adebowale repeatedly stabbed him and Adebolajo attempted to cut off his head.

One witness described the attack, which took place on a busy street near a primary school, as looking "like a butcher attacking a joint of meat."

Adebolajo was filmed by a passer-by moments later, covered in blood and holding a cleaver and a knife, justifying the attack "because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers."

"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," he said repeatedly on the video.

Adebolajo later told the police, in an interview played in court, that he and Adebowale had decided to kill a British soldier, and Rigby had been targeted because "he was the soldier that was spotted first."

Adebowale, who has suffered mental health issues since his arrest, chose to present no evidence in his defense during the three-week trial. His lawyer, Abbas Lakha, told the jury that his client agreed with Adebolajo's description of the attack as a "military operation" and the two men as soldiers.

After the attack the two killers waited at the scene, and then charged at a police car waving a machete and a gun.

Both men had denied trying to kill a police officer, saying they hoped to provoke police into shooting them. Lakha said Adebowale had brandished a 90-year-old unloaded pistol so he "would achieve martyrdom."

Armed officers shot the two men several times — blowing off Adebowale's thumb as he raised the gun — then gave them first aid.

The savagery of the crime, Adebolajo's bloodthirsty rhetoric — delivered in a London accent — and the ordinary working-day surroundings all helped make the killing a crime that inflamed fears of Islamic extremist terrorism in Britain. It was followed by a spate of attacks on mosques and Islamic centers, and by protests from far-right groups.

Police contrasted the savagery of the attack with the bravery and compassion of passers-by. One woman tried to comfort Rigby as he lay in the street. Another tried to persuade Adebolajo to put down his weapons.

Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, called the murder a "barbaric act."

Two men have been found guilty of murdering a British soldier on a busy London street. 25-year-old Lee Rigby was run over by a car and then hacked at with a meat cleaver by 29-year-old Michael Adebolajo and 22-year-old Michael Adebowale in May.

Justice would be served,if they are sentenced to half an hour in an Industrial-Size Meatgrinder!

unthinkable, tragic, disgusting,,,,

my prayers went out to the families from the moment I first heard,, its a no brainer they should be found guilty,,,

Islam. The politically incorrect problem.


I wonder who "inspired" them.

do you wonder who inspired,,Charles manson?

crazy is just crazy,, people of all religions have crazy people somewhere in their ranks

Inspire magazine promoted "open source jihad".
Inspire is an English language online magazine reported to be published by the organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP uses the Internet to reach its audience. Numerous international and domestic extremists motivated by radical interpretations of Islam have been influenced by the magazine and, in some cases, reportedly used its bomb-making instructions in their attempts to carry out attacks.

Fairykan must have creamed his draws hearing Muslims killed someone white.

Inspire Magazine : Tsarnaev brothers used Al-Qaida magazine.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/04/23/inspire_magazine_tsarnaev_brothers_used_al_qaida_magazine_for_directions.html

You are right. Crazy is crazy. We all have or know someone who is goofy.

actually the Beatles' REVOLUTION and Helter Skelter inspired Old Charlie!

There is a big difference between a radicalized religious fanatic and a true nutjob.

One relies on a propaganda machine to be created.

not really, both have a disconnect or distortion from reality,,,

It is the mass marketing that separates the two. The distortion is due to being spoonfed radical Islamic garbage.

not really,, we have mass marketing of guns, of violence, as much as of religion

it takes a mind that is already disconnected to transform that medium into a realistic option,,,,and act upon it

Yeah, I hear the US Army lists as the number one terroristic threat to America is the religious right; they most have a lot of wackos who believe that crazy stuff!

I have heard (and read) that the greatest terrorist threat and largest number of attacks are from political 'revolutionaries'

there are a lot of people loyal to their country or nation or whatever who believe that it is noble to 'die' for,,,,

and apparently, harm and kill in the name of,,,