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Men tried to decapitate soldier, court told

Men tried to decapitate British soldier, trial hears

London (AFP) - Two men accused of the gruesome murder of a British soldier tried to hack off his head in broad daylight on a London street to avenge the deaths of Muslims abroad, their trial heard Friday.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are accused of murdering 25-year-old Lee Rigby in May as he walked to his barracks in Woolwich, south London.

The two defendants, both Britons of Nigerian descent, deny the murder charge in the trial at London's Old Bailey court.

Rigby's relatives walked out of the courtroom in tears as the jury heard harrowing evidence including a video of Adebolajo, with blood-stained hands, saying they killed him "because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers".

Prosecutor Richard Whittam said the pair had run Rigby over with a car, knocking him unconscious, before attacking him with knives and a meat cleaver in a "cowardly and callous murder".

They dragged his body into the middle of the road because "they wanted members of the public to see the consequence of what can only be described as their barbarous acts", he said.

"They both attacked the motionless body of Lee Rigby," Whittam told the jury of eight women and four men.

"He was repeatedly stabbed and it appears it was Michael Adebolajo, the first defendant, who made a serious and almost successful attempt to decapitate Lee Rigby with multiple blows to his neck made with the meat cleaver.

"At the same time... Michael Adebowale was using a knife to stab and cut at Lee Rigby's body."

One witness, Whittam said, compared Adebolajo's actions to "a butcher attacking a joint of meat".

'An eye for an eye'

There were gasps in the courtroom as the jury was shown CCTV footage of a car veering onto the pavement and ramming into the soldier, and two men dragging his body into the road.

Jurors were also saw a video recorded on a mobile phone showing Adebolajo describing the attack as "an eye for an eye".

"The only reason we've killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers," he says to the camera.

"This British soldier is one -- he is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

When the police arrived, Adebolajo ran at a police car waving the meat cleaver and was shot by officers, the prosecutor said.

Adebowale charged at police with a gun, and was also shot.

Adebolajo and Adebowale are further accused of attempting to murder a police officer and conspiracy to murder a police officer. They both deny these charges.

The horrifying attack took place in the middle of the day as a group of schoolchildren were returning from a local library, Whittam told the jury. Members of the public turned them back to avoid the "awful" scene.

The prosecutor said passers-by had shown "bravery and decency", with one woman confronting Adebolajo despite the fact that he was still holding the meat cleaver and his hands were covered in blood.

Another woman "went to the lifeless body of Lee Rigby and stroked him to provide some comfort and humanity", he added.

Adebolajo has asked to be referred to as Mujaahid Abu Hamza in court, while Adebowale wants to be called Ismail Ibn Abdullah. Adebolajo clutched a copy of the Koran as he sat in the dock.

Both defendants have admitted possession of a firearm with intent to cause violence.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Adebolajo buying a block of kitchen knives and a knife sharpener the day before the attack.

Rigby, the father of a young son, had joined the British army in 2006 and had served in Afghanistan, the court heard.