Four men to face anti-terrorism charges over alleged attacks in UK

LONDON (Reuters) - Four men have been charged under anti-terrorism legislation with preparing to launch attacks in Britain and swearing an oath of allegiance to Islamic State (IS) militants, police said on Friday. The four, who were arrested over the past two weeks, are also charged with obtaining a handgun and conducting "hostile reconnaissance" of Shepherd's Bush police station in West London and the nearby White City reservist army barracks. Further charges against them include storing images sent via photo-sharing service Instagram of two police officers and of two police community support officers. The four were named as Tarik Hassane, 21; Suhaib Majeed, 20; Nyall Hamlett, 24 and Momen Motasim, 21, all from the London area. The charges against them also include setting up methods of secret communications and possession of extreme jihadi material which included footage of the beheading by IS of American journalist Steven Sotloff. A fifth man has been charged with firearms offences. All were appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Costas Pitas)