A Scotland Yard chief has reportedly revealed that almost 600 Britons, out of which 450 are from the capital city of London, have left Britain to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a report said.
London was dubbed "Londonistan" by intelligence agencies in the 1990s because the city was the hotbed of Islamist insurgency ever since preachers like, Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada made the capital city their base, reported The Daily Star.
Investigators claimed last week that NHS doctor Shajul Islam, 28, and Jubayer Chowdhury, 24, in Stratford, East London, may provide a crucial clue to identifying the ISIS militant who beheaded American journalist James Foley. The duo were charged with kidnapping British journalist John Cantile in 2012 but were released due to lack of evidence.
East London was termed an "Islamic State" after sympathizers raised an ISIS flag at the entrance to a council estate in Poplar. The area is also home to hate preachers including, Walthamstow-based Anjem Choudary, 47, and Abu Izzadeen, 39, from Leyton.
Terror preacher Abu Hamza, who is now undergoing trial in an American court for plotting to set up a terror training camp, was also based at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London while he sent hoards of men to wage jihad across the Islamic world.
Ever since conflicts erupted in Syria, Amal el-Wahabi, wife of Aine Davis and a resident of Portobello Road in west London, became the first woman to be convicted of terror charges earlier this month.
Twenty-two-year-old Muslim convert, Khadijah Dare, who has joined the ranks of the ISIS in Syria, was from Lewisham in south-east London. Dare, a former film and media studies student has vowed to be the first woman to kill a British or American soldier.