Sheikh, the man accused of his murder, was born in Britain, where he attended a private, fee-paying school in East London, as well as the London School of Economics. However, he was drawn into jihadist circles. In 1994 he was imprisoned in India, after kidnapping a number of Western tourists. He was freed, along with two other militants, five years later, when gunmen hijacked an airliner, forcing it to land in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and demanded the men be released in exchange for the passengers.
