The Isil Sniper

By Alan M Grant

The Isil Sniper, tells of a plot staged by a deeply disturbed ex-soldier, Abbas Shirazi. His life is drastically affected, first when his beloved parents are killed in a tragic accident. Abbas then becomes an extremely skilled sniper in the British army. Then the second disaster to befall him was when his sniper team, by now close friends, were blown to bits in an explosion in Afghanistan.
Abbas then embarks on a mission designed to terrorise his countrymen in the UK under the pretence of being an Islamic jihadist. The truth is far distant from the myth and Abbas deservably meets a just end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781499095760

Alan M Grant

Alan is the pen name the author has adopted. He lives in London. Alan worked as a secondary school teacher for some 30 years, teaching English and religious studies. He took early retirement to pursue another career as a full time writer. Alan has always written, mainly short stories. The ISIL sniper is his first book to be published. Alan tells us he wrote this in reaction to the revulsion he feels at the brutal acts of terror being carried out in the Middle East. He believes strongly that these acts and the total lack of humanity being displayed in Syria, Iraq, and increasingly in other countries including the UK, have absolutely nothing to do with the Muslim faith. A very important religion which he understands to have similarities to Christianity and other religions which are founded on a basis of tolerance, respect for others, and peace.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Alan M Grant.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015902942

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4990-9577-7

                Softcover         978-1-4990-9575-3

                eBook              978-1-4990-9576-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 02/24/2015

Xlibris

800-056-3182

www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

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Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1 Glasgow

Chapter 2 The First Press Release

Chapter 3 Abbas Shirazi

Chapter 4 Identities

Chapter 5 Preparation

Chapter 6 Isil

Chapter 7 Kazim Durrani

Chapter 8 The Plan

Chapter 9 Brecon

Chapter 10 MI5

Chapter 11 The Hunt Begins

Chapter 12 Arran

Chapter 13 Edinburgh

Chapter 14 Newcastle upon Tyne

Chapter 15 The Second Press Release

Chapter 16 The Old Lady

Chapter 17 Runcorn

Chapter 18 Ely Cathedral

Chapter 19 Vigo Sunday

Chapter 20 Exeter Monday

Chapter 21 Third Press Release

Chapter 22 The sniper makes contact

Chapter 23 10 Downing Street

Chapter 24 Payment

Chapter 25 The Hideout Located

Chapter 26 Heathrow Airport

Chapter 27 Mauritius

Chapter 28 A Final Surprise

Foreword

Friday, January 9th, 2015

Andrew Parker, the Director General of the Security Service MI5 warned that the threat of a mass casualty attack in the UK was growing and that intelligence pointed to specific plots.

He said that although three terrorist plots had been foiled in recent months, it was almost inevitable that one would eventually succeed.

Mr Parker said that the number of crude and potentially deadly plots from lone wolf extremists was increasing.

CHAPTER 1

Glasgow,

Saturday 2nd May, 2015

Did you see ‘Pointless’ last night Sis? Angie Ruddick chatted away to her sister and best friend Sandy. No, Dave was needing to chat, he was screwed up about his work."

Again? Angie said. She knew Dave was having a hard time of it. She loved him to bits but a new Boss had arrived who seemed to be one of those modern, target-driven freaks. Dave however, was very good at his job designing software but was a chilled out fellow who really had to take his time at things.

The two sisters paused by the yellow globe of a Belisha beacon, waiting for traffic to pass. Angie just loved this special time each week with her big sister. Every Wednesday she would take time off from her shift-work in John Lewis. The pair would take Colin, Sandy’s year and a quarter year old son, down to the Wheatsheaf and talk non-stop over their pub lunch.

Angie looked down with loving fondness at the little face; sound asleep in his push chair. Then she staggered back in horror as the baby’s head exploded in a welter of blood and fragments of skull.

Neither of the screaming women noticed the dark blue, Toyota Avensis saloon which pulled away from the kerb opposite, and made its way steadily down the avenue away from them.

It travelled through the suburb of Giffnock and towards the M77 Motorway which led to Glasgow’s central motorway then onto the M8 and Edinburgh.

CHAPTER 2

The First Press Release

E-mail sent to all the British Press, TV and radio stations.

2nd May, 2015                                            The Isil Sniper

Four years ago on this very day, specialist soldiers from the army of the USA murdered our great Leader and Hero, Osama bin Laden in his own home, in cold blood, in front of his terrified family.

We have sworn a campaign of vengeance against you infidels in your own country because you continue to give the cowardly Americans your military support.

Glasgow was the first of our assassinations.

More will follow.

Soon you will not feel safe in your homes, on your streets, and in your places of work.

We will kill you whenever and wherever we choose.

We do this in remembrance of Osama, blessings be to his name, and as true members of Isil, the Islamic Army which will conquer across the middle East then bring a world-wide caliphate into being.

This will be done for the one true religion and will bring benefits to Muslim faithful all across the world.

Allahu Akbar

CHAPTER 3

Abbas Shirazi

Abbas settled back into the soft leather armchair in his rented house in central Birmingham. He had already pulled the wall mounted mirror aside, opened the safe, and took out the bottle of 18 year old Glen Livet Malt Whisky, a crystal glass, and a jug of iced water. Abbas took a deep, long, slow sip from the goblet and reflected back on how far he had come to get to this moment.

He was born in Iran and raised in a prosperous Sunni household. His father, Farhad Shirazi, was one of the Shah’s most favoured Generals. Farhad had been well educated in Iran’s finest schools and University, then, by agreement with the British Government, trained as an officer in the military academy at Sandhurst. He had then fought bravely against the Iraqis in the border wars with them and was soon promoted. Major-General Farhad Shirazi was a devoted and loving father and Abbas idolized him.

Then along came the Iranian revolution in 1979. The Shah was overthrown and Farhad, seeing that his time was over in the country he loved, decided that his family’s best future would be in Britain. Farhad, who came from a wealthy family of Iranian merchants, had already transferred most of his funds into banks in London. So the family purchased a large house in Islington and Abbas was sent to a very well-known private school much favoured by politicians and rich business people as the best place for their family’s education. Also, the school was exactly the kind of place where they would meet people who could prove useful contacts in later life.

Abbas was four years old when this dramatic change in his life took place. However his English nanny had taught him her language as well as that of his homeland. So he soon really liked school and found it easy to make good friends. He progressed into upper school then, when his father encouraged him to go on to Oxford to study finance or international politics. he said very firmly, no Father, I want to be a soldier just like yourself.

Abbas had just started training as an officer in the British Army when his life changed totally again. His father and mother had become very keen hill-walkers and bird watchers. That June, they booked a cottage in Patterdale in England’s lovely Lake District. As they drove North on the M6 Motorway, a lorry driver, who was stoned on alcohol