Four men from London charged over 'terror plot', police say

Four men from London have been charged with intending to commit acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard has said.

The men are accused of taking an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and arranging to buy a handgun equipped with a silencer.

They are charged with conducting "hostile reconnaissance" of a police station and Army barracks in London using Google Street View.

They were charged following arrests in London over the last two weeks.

Tarik Hassane, 21, Suhaib Majeed, 20, Nyall Hamlett, 24, and Momen Motasim, 21, are jointly charged with the intention of committing acts of terrorism between 8 July and 7 October this year.

A fifth man, Nathan Cuffy, 25, also from London, has been charged with two firearms offences.

All five men are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later, police said.

'Secret communications'

The terror charges also include allegations the four men set-up "methods of secret communications" and that they "entered into covert discussions".

They are accused of discussing the sourcing of a moped, along with where they could store the vehicle in Shepherd's Bush, west London.

The charges also include allegations the men conducted reconnaissance of Shepherd's Bush police station and White City Territorial Army barracks.

Police say the men are also accused of viewing and retaining images sent via Instagram of two Met Police officers and two Met police community support officers, and having "graphic images" of the beheading of Steven Sotloff.

Mr Sotloff, a US journalist, was killed by IS militants last month having been kidnapped in Syria in 2013.

Two other men arrested on 7 October on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism were released from custody on Monday.

Another man, arrested on the same date, was released from custody earlier. Police say evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which advised it was "insufficient" to bring charges "at this time".

A woman, 19, has been released on police bail until next week pending further enquiries, police said.