A man who made threats of violence, referencing the Taliban and 9/11 while on board a train has been jailed.

Mohammed Khalil Khan, 50, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 12 months at Preston Crown Court, after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in a public place in the incident which saw Darwen station locked down and the railway line closed for several hours.

On August 9 2021, Khan boarded a train at Manchester Victoria station heading to Clitheroe.

While on the train a member of staff was alerted by a passenger to a man making threats to commit acts of violence, also making comments about the atrocities of 9/11 and the Taliban.

The member of staff proceeded to follow the passenger to the carriage that Khan was occupying before returning to the front of the train to call 999. The train stopped at Darwen where the suspect was met by a team of officers, with passengers being ushered from the train to safety.

Khan was then detained where he verbally abused officers and became aggressive.

Following a search of a bag that Khan was in possession of a knife was found and he was arrested.

At an earlier court hearing, Blackburn magistrates were told the railway line was closed for several hours as the army bomb disposal squad carried out X-rays of bags belonging to Khan.

He had made comments about the New York World Trade Center terror attacks on the train and later told police he was Osama Bin Laden.

A passenger approached the train guard shortly after the train had left Bolton station and reported concerns over the comments being made by Khan. He also said he could see wires coming from one of the bags.

Shortly after another passenger reported hearing Khan saying he was going to cut people’s heads off.

Detective Chief Inspector, Kay Dennison, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: This was a terrifying incident for the passengers to be stuck on a moving train with Khan making such concerning threats.

“His behaviour led to the train station where he was detained being closed off as a precaution, causing widespread disruption and a sense of panic in the local area.

“Khan’s behaviour was frankly very worrying and completely unacceptable to cause fear in a public place.

“I’d like to thank the members of the public who reported Khan and offered to be witnesses and the train staff for their quick action in alerting police.”