The families of soldiers killed by friendly fire in Iraq have reacted with fury after a firebrand preacher taunted them over the deaths of their loved ones.Anjem Chourdary added insult to the injury caused by Islamic extremists' hate-filled protest against soldiers returning home from the war-torn region by saying they were 'not heroes but closer to coweards who cannot fight, as their uncanny knack for death by friendly fire illustrates'.
The three soldiers to whom he was referring - Privates Robert Foster, 19, John Thrumble, 21, and Aaron McClure, 19 - were killed in Afghanistan in August 2007 when an American F-15 jet dropped a 500lb bomb on their position.
Choudary's extraordinary comments were delivered hours after Muslim protesters waved offensive placards as members of 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment marched through Luton. The preacher, the right-hand man to cleric of hate Omar Bakri, went on to attack the 'vile' parade. He said the soldiers were 'terrorists', comparing them to Nazi troops who 'cannot be excused for simply carrying out their duty'.
Private Foster's father John, 59, from Harlow, Essex, said: 'Words like this can endanger our soldiers abroad. They do not choose where they go. They are not interested in politics - they go and do the job to the best of their ability.
'Why mock those killed by friendly fire? He is calling the troops cowards but it's a cowardly act to mock them this way.'
Private Thrumble's mother, Pearl, 45, from Chelmsford, Essex, said: 'He calls them cowards and terrorists but they are the opposite. They are brave young men and women doing a very good job.'
The controversy threatened to overshadow a second homecoming parade yesterday by the Royal Anglians, known as the Poachers. This time, there were no protesters to spoil the occasion, however, as thousands lined the streets of Watford to wave Union Jacks and hold aloft banners with messages including 'Thank you to our boys' and 'Well done Poachers, welcome home'.
Choudary, 32, posted the comments on a website run by the Islam For The UK group. He has close links with Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah, the radical Islamist group believed to be behind the application to Bedfordshire Police for permission to stage the protest. ASWJ was founded in 2005 and took in members of Al-Muhajiroun when the Luton-based group formerly led by Bakri was outlawed.
He said: 'Pathetic and cowardly British soldiers pompously marched through Luton to demonstrate their skill at murdering and torturing thousands of innocent Muslim men, women and children over a 24-month period. Astonishingly, hundreds from the Luton community too felt it necessary to maintain this vile parade by upholding banners of support and shocking slogans of praise for these brutal murderers.
'In light of this, a sincere demonstration was organised by Muslims from the local community to highlight the British state-sponsored terrorism that is currently ensuing in the lands of Afghanistan and Iraq, and how the return of active soldiers on such battlefronts should be marked with severe condemnation as opposed to welcoming rapture.'
He added: 'Non-Muslims in Britain must appreciate that the actions of the British soldiers must be condemned unreservedly; they are not heroes but closer to cowards who cannot fight, as their uncanny knack for death by "friendly fire" illustrates. They are terrorists, and cannot be excused for simply "carrying out their duty", which incidentally (and vividly) was also used by Nazi soldiers in Germany to justify their notorious and bloody campaigns in the early 20th century.'
Choudary, one of three children born to a market stall holder, was raised in a semi-detached house in Welling, Kent, and began a medical degree after taking his A-levels. When he failed his first year exams he switched to law. He was known as a party animal who regularly smoked cannabis, experimented with LSD, and could down a pint of cider in seconds.
He became chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers but then embraced radical Islamism and becoming a founder member of Al-Muhajiroun.
In Luton yesterday, one of the two members of public arrested on Tuesday during the Islamists' protest was released from police custody after being charged with racially aggravated harassment.
Nathan Draper, 18, described how he was 'outraged' when he heard the protesters and shouted obsecenities back at them. 'A 6ft 5in copper jumped on me and chucked me to the ground,' said Mr Draper, who lives in Luton and plans to join the Army. 'He broke my glasses. I was held in the police station for ten hours and I still have the cuff marks. I'm being charged with racially aggravated harassment but it was them who were shouting racist things.'
His mother Ruth Griffin, 42, said: 'He's quite outraged about it because he was sticking up for our soldiers. I don't understand how the protesters got away with it.'
The second man, who was not named but is in his 40s, was issued with a fixed-penalty notice.
Ishtiaq Alamgir, 29, was born and educated in Britain. But a few years ago he rejected the country that had nurtured him and became what police chiefs have labelled 'the enemy within' in the global war on terror. He adopted the name Sayful Islam - meaning Sword of Islam - and on Tuesday was among the protesters hurling abuse at soldiers marching past in Luton.
Shortly after his transformation he became leader of the town's branch of the now-banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, which was led by Sheik Omar Bakri, currently in exile in Lebanon.
He claims this phase is now behind him and he has become a family man. His comments to the Daily Mail after the parade in Luton suggest differently. 'They [the soldiers] have killed, maimed and raped thousands of innocent people,' he ranted. 'They can't come here and parade where there is such a Muslim community. What do they have to be proud of?'
The son of a British Rail engineer who came to this country from Pakistan, Alamgir grew up in a moderate, middle-class Muslim family in Luton. He became an accountant for the Inland Revenue and went on to marry and become a father. But a meeting with Omar Bakri and the events of 9/11 triggered the change in name and attitude. 'When I watched those planes go into the Twin Towers, I felt elated,' he said. 'That magnificent action split the world into two camps - you were either with Islam and Al Qaeda, or with the enemy.'
Islam yesterday denied he had been living on benefits, saying he now teaches English and maths - although he refused to disclose where.