The tactic echoed the unthinkable cruelty of the Iraqi war zone. The target was a crowded family restaurant. And the accused would-be attacker, who was wounded when his bomb went off prematurely in the restaurant bathroom, was a hulking 22-year-old who police say has mental problems.

Police in the southwest England town of Exeter charged Nicky Reilly, a British convert to Islam, with terrorism in the May explosion and alleged that extremists took advantage of his problems to groom him for a suicide mission.

“Our investigation so far indicates Reilly, who had a history of mental illness, had adopted the Islamic faith,” said Tony Melville, a deputy chief constable of the Devon and Cornwall police force. “We believe, despite his weak and vulnerable illness, he was preyed upon, radicalised and taken advantage of.”

Although the explosion in Exeter did not get much international attention, it has raised concerns among Western anti-terror officials because it resembles cases in Iraq in which militants used people with mental problems for suicide bombings.

The case and several other recent developments have put Britain on alert for attacks by lone-wolf militants and converts.

“Here was a man with a borderline IQ and mental problems who was apparently recruited by extremists,” said a senior British anti-terror official, who asked to remain anonymous because of restrictions on discussing investigations. “It’s a method that we are aware of in Iraq. This shows we have to expand our attention to new areas where radicalisation can take place. Not just prisons or schools, but mental institutions and the mentally ill.”

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