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Sentence due for 2 guilty of UK soldier murder

Carl Court/Getty Images

LONDON – Sentencing is underway for two al-Qaida-inspired extremists convicted of murdering an off-duty British soldier who was stabbed to death in a frenzied attack on a London street.

READ MORE: Jury finds 2 men guilty of slaying U.K. soldier

Self-described “soldier of Allah” Michael Adebolajo and accomplice Michael Adebowale were convicted in December of murdering 25-year-old Fusilier Lee Rigby, who was struck by a car and then repeatedly stabbed with knives and a cleaver in front of horrified passers-by.

The May 22 attack shocked Britain and inflamed fears of Islamic extremist terrorism in the country.

The pair appeared in the dock Wednesday as prosecutors and defence lawyers made final comments.

In his testimony, the 29-year-old Adebolajo told the court that he and 22-year-old Adebowale had decided to kill a British soldier as revenge for attacks on Muslims abroad.

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