Prosecutor: London subway stabber had jihadi images on phone

LONDON – A British prosecutor says a mentally ill taxi driver who went on a knife rampage at a London subway station had images of a slain British soldier and an Islamic State militant on his phone.

Muhiddin Mire went on trial this week on attempted murder charges for slashing the throat of musician Lyle Zimmerman and lashing out at several others at Leytonstone station on Dec. 5. The Somalia-born Mire has admitted the attack but denies attempted murder.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees told jurors Wednesday at London's Central Criminal Court that Mire's phone contained images of Fusilier Lee Rigby — hacked to death by al-Qaida-inspired attackers in 2013 — and Mohammed Emwazi, a British militant who appeared in IS videos showing the beheading of hostages.

Mire claimed his attack was "for Syria."