'He was on a mission to kill': ISIS-inspired pharmacy student who repeatedly stabbed his elderly neighbour is jailed for 36 years over terrorist attack
- Ihsas Khan jailed over stabbing of Wayne Greenhalgh in September 2016
- Khan was handed maximum 36-year jail sentence with non-parole of 27 years
- During his trial Khan had pleaded not guilty citing mental illness as a cause
- Though the NSW Supreme Court rejected that he suffered mental health issues
An ISIS-inspired pharmacy student who repeatedly stabbed his elderly neighbour with a hunting knife has been jailed.
Ihsas Khan, 25, was handed a maximum 36-year jail sentence, with a non-parole period of 27 years, on Wednesday, over the attack against Wayne Greenhalgh, 57, at Minto, south-west Sydney, in September 2016.
'The attack was violent, ferocious & inhumane,' Justice Geoffrey Bellew said in court.
'He was on a mission to kill him.’
Justice Bellew was satisfied the original intention of Khan was to carry out the crime on the 15th anniversary of the World Trade Centre terrorist attack in New York, in the United States, to gain international recognition.
Ihsas Khan, 25, was handed a minimum 27-year jail sentence on Wednesday after stabbing Wayne Greenhalgh, 57, at Minto, south-west Sydney, in September 2016 (pictured)
Greenhalgh (pictured) fled for his life, cowering in a neighbourhood hairdresser, as unlikely local heroes intervened to subdue Khan
At the time of the attack, victim Greenhalgh fled for his life, cowering in a neighbourhood hairdresser, as unlikely local heroes intervened to subdue Khan.
Khan, who described himself as 'an unskilled assassin', was tasered and taken into custody where he was charged with committing a terrorist act.
During his trial, Khan had pleaded not guilty due to mental illness.
Though the NSW Supreme Court jury rejected Khan's case that he was suffering from a mental illness at the time and that a jinn, or supernatural being, instructed him to kill someone.
During his trial, the court heard Khan planned to attack a stranger on September 11, to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York.
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He chose Mr Greenhalgh because he was wearing a T-shirt with an American motif and repeatedly yelled 'Allahu Akbar' during the stabbing.
In a police interview following the attack, Khan was asked how he felt about the stabbing and compared it to eating a chocolate bar.
'[It felt] like eating a Picnic bar. You don't really think about it, do you?'
Khan was then asked if he thought the stabbing was 'normal'.
'Is it normal for you to drop bombs in Iraq and Syria? It's the same thing,' Khan responded, adding that he 'felt nothing' and didn't regret his actions.
One of the heroes who stopped Khan, Allice Ah Fa, tragically died by suicide at the University of Western Sydney last April.
The court heard Khan planned to attack a stranger on September 11, to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York
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