Fury as two terrorists snared by undercover cops while ‘trying to get British soldiers killed’ could be freed

TWO terrorists captured by undercover cops trying to recruit local hitmen to assassinate British soldiers have been freed.

Former Taliban fighters Munir Farooqi and Israr Malik will soon face parole hearings.

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The couple were convicted of terrorism charges in 2011 after trying to talk two police officers into “fighting, killing and dying” in Afghanistan.

Farooqi, 65, was sentenced to four life terms but only received a minimum sentence of nine years.

So far he has been behind bars for twelve years.

Malik, 34, was Farooqi’s trusted aide and was sentenced to an indefinite sentence with the possibility of parole after five years.

The couple were convicted of preparing terrorist attacks, inciting murder and distributing terrorist literature.

Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: “It’s ridiculous that committed terrorists should get a parole hearing so early.”

“Farooqi has been sentenced to four life terms and the public will wonder why he might be released on license.

“Terrorists are not like other criminals. They are a constant threat to our society.”

Father of three, Farooqi ran an Islamic book stall at Manchester’s Longsight market, which was seen as a pretext for extremism.

He sold jihad books and bragged to undercover officers about how he had fought for the Taliban.