IS-inspired London Tube knifeman jailed for life

London:  A paranoid schizophrenic knifeman who tried to behead a commuter in a London Underground station in an Islamic State-inspired attack was sentenced to life behind bars on Monday.

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Somali-born Muhaydin Mire, 30, said during the rampage that he was doing it "for my Syrian brothers", while a bystander shouted at him "You ain't no Muslim, bruv" -- a phrase that went viral online.

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Mire attacked random stranger Lyle Zimmerman with a rusty knife as the 56-year-old musician walked through Leytonstone Tube station in east London on December 5.

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Zimmerman suffered serious injuries but recovered well after the attack.

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Last month a jury convicted Mire of attempted murder.

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He was sent Monday to begin his sentence at the top-security Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, where he was already being detained for treatment.

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Mire will serve a minimum of eight and a half years before he can possibly be considered eligible for release.

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At the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court in London, judge Nicholas Hilliard said he accepted that Mire was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attack.

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But he said he was also in no doubt that Mire was motivated by the conflict in Syria.

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"Because Muslims were being bombed in Syria, he was going to attack civilians here," said Hilliard, the recorder of London.