Three Britons Jailed for Syria-Related Terror Offenses

Three British men were sentenced to prison for terror offenses on Friday, as security forces crack down on what they say is a mounting threat from jihadists radicalized by the Syria conflict.

Childhood friends Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, both aged 22 from Birmingham in central England, were jailed for 12 years and eight months each.

Mashudur Choudhury, a father of two in his early 30s from Portsmouth on the southern English coast, was sentenced to four years in a separate case.

British security forces have stepped up surveillance and arrests of terror suspects in recent months, and lawmakers are set to toughen anti-terror laws in a bid to stem the flow of Britons joining Islamic State (IS) jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq.

An estimated 500 Britons have traveled abroad to become jihadists and officials fear the return of battle-hardened and radicalized fighters.

Choudhury, who in May became the first person to be convicted in Britain of terror offenses related to the Syria conflict, was found guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.

Ahmed and Sarwar were jailed for the same offense after traveling to Syria to join an Al-Qaida-linked terrorist group.

Sarwar and Ahmed went to Syria in May last year after contacting Islamic extremists, and were arrested on their return to Britain in January, a court heard.

"They willingly, enthusiastically and with a great deal of purpose, persistence and determination embarked on a course intended to commit acts of terrorism," judge Michael Topolski said.

Choudhury was part of a group of up to six young men who traveled from Portsmouth to Syria in October last year, with the intention of attending a terror training camp, his trial heard.

Four of the group -- known as the "Pompey Boys" after a local football team, or the "Britani brigade Bangladeshi bad boys" -- have already been killed in fighting, according to reports.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State group aims to create a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq, and has proved adept at using social media, gruesome online videos and glossy literature to attract thousands of volunteers.