Man jailed for life for killing son of ex-Somali leader

A teenager has been jailed for life for murdering the son of a former prime minister of Somalia in London.

Kul Hawadleh, 20, a student living in Kingsbury, north-west London, was stabbed to death at a petrol station following the "lethal escalation" of a row, the Old Bailey heard.

Abdul Khan, 19, of Harrow, was told he must serve at least 22 years.

Mr Hawadleh's passenger Abdiwahab Guiled, 19, was injured in the attack while another friend escaped.

Mr Hawadleh had gone to help a friend after a gang attacked them, the court was told. He was stabbed in the heart.

The murder happened as Mr Hawadleh filled his silver Ford Focus at a petrol station in Harrow, north west London, in February.

Judge Paul Worsley told Khan, a refugee from Afghanistan: "You stabbed him in the shoulder and then stabbed him through the heart.

Khan, who fled to France then Germany after the killing, had denied murder but admitted causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Hawadleh's friend.

Student Abdiwahab Guiled, 19, was stabbed in the buttocks.

Following the sentencing Det Insp Martin Ludlow said: "Kul was a promising university student with a bright future ahead of him.

"Kul was fatally stabbed as he rushed to the aid of a close friend who was being assaulted. He was left to die on the petrol station forecourt."