London, Jan 12 (IANS): A UK court has sentenced a man, who stabbed three men to death in June 2020 at a park in Reading, England, to life imprisonment.

Khairi Saadallah, 26, murdered James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, on June 20, 2020, in the park in Reading, some 65 km west of London, Xinhua news agency reported.

Saadallah had previously told London's Old Bailey court that he "executed" the men as an "act of religious jihad".

Passing the sentence on Monday, the judge said all his offences "had a terrorist connection".

The judge described the attack as "swift, ruthless and brutal" and the victims "had no chance to react, let alone defend themselves".

The attack "involved a substantial degree of premeditation or planning" and was carried out "for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, or ideological cause", said the judge.

Three other people were also injured, before Saadallah threw away the knife and fled the scene, pursued by police, the BBC reported.

Saadallah pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and three charges of attempted murder, the Evening Standard newspaper reported, adding that he will never be considered for release from prison.