Posted on 07/31/2005 9:22:26 AM PDT by Grampa Dave
London Police Nab 6 More in Blasts Probe
By CATHERINE McALOON, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago
Police arrested six people Sunday in the failed July 21 London transit bombings and were reportedly investigating the attackers' ties to Saudi Arabia and Italy, hurrying to track down any accomplices to prevent more attacks.
Key suspects were being interrogated in London in relation to the partially exploded bombs planted on three subway trains and a double-decker bus, police said, while authorities in Italy were pursuing contacts linked to suspected bomber Osman Hussain, arrested in Rome two days ago.
On Sunday, one of Hussain's brothers was arrested in northern Italy, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. He was not accused of terrorism, ANSA said.
Police discovered that Hussain called Saudi Arabia hours before his arrest, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, and the Sunday Times said another bombing suspect went on a monthlong visit to Saudi Arabia in 2003, telling friends he was to undergo training there.
Police raided two properties in the Sussex region, arresting the six people at one location, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said. The six were being detained under anti-terrorism laws at a police station in Sussex.
The police spokeswoman would not specify the location of the raids or any further detail on those arrested. The four main suspects in the July 21 attacks are already in custody.
As investigators probed links to other attacks, Spain's intelligence chief dismissed the possibility that the London bombings were connected to the train bombings in Madrid last year that killed 191 people.
Alberto Saiz, the director of the National Intelligence Center, told the Madrid daily El Pais in an interview published Sunday that similarities between the attacks were limited to "their outward appearance" and the targeting of transport networks.
"At that point, the differences start," Saiz was quoted as saying. The July 7 group of London bombers was "small — just four people — less visible than the Madrid one."
"Two weeks later, they try a second episode of the same attack — obviously, the perpetrators are not the same," Saiz said.
"In contrast to Madrid, this gives us the feeling that they are coordinated with other groups or have direction from above, and that there is a plan," he added. "This is not an isolated group that decides to act on its own account."
Four arrests were made in dramatic raids Friday in London and Rome, helping to ease the fears of a British capital on edge since four suicide bombers killed 52 victims on three subways and a double-decker bus on July 7. The July 21 bombing attempts rattled Londoners, but took no lives.
Police were searching for those who may have recruited and directed the bombers and built the explosives while also probing for connections between the terror cells, one made up mostly of Britons of Pakistani descent and the other mainly of east African-born Britons.
In Rome, investigators were interrogating Hussain, 27, an Ethiopian-born British citizen suspected of trying to bomb the Shepherd's Bush subway station in west London on July 21.
Hussain was arrested Friday at a Rome apartment reportedly belonging to a brother after police traced calls he made on a relative's cell phone. Britain has requested his extradition for questioning, and an initial hearing was held Saturday.
His attorney, Antonietta Sonnessa, said the extradition process could take two months. She said no formal charges had been filed against Hussain, also known as Hamdi Issac, and said he was likely to fight extradition.
A brother, Fati Issac, was arrested Sunday in the northern Italian town of Brescia on suspicion of destroying documents sought by investigators, ANSA said. He was not accused of terrorism, the report said. Hussain reportedly told investigators the bombers were motivated by anger over the Iraq war.
A legal expert familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press in Rome that Hussain admitted to a role in the attack but said it was only intended to be an attention-grabbing strike.
Hussain told interrogators he was not carrying enough explosives even to "harm people nearby," the expert said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Italian law requires that the ongoing investigation remain secret.
Hussain also said the bombers had been led by a man called "Muktar," the Rome daily La Repubblica reported. "Muktar showed us videos with images of the war in Iraq," Hussain said, according to Italian reports. Suspect Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, was arrested Friday in London. The Ethiopian-born Briton, also known as Muktar Mohammed Said, is accused of planting explosives on a bus in east London. The Sunday Times said he went to Saudi Arabia in 2003.
A second man arrested in London on Friday, who identified himself as Ramzi Mohammed, is suspected of trying to blow up a train at the Oval Station. Another suspect, Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, a Somali with British residency, was arrested in Birmingham on Wednesday. He is suspected of trying to bomb a subway train near Warren Street station on July 21. ___ Associated Press writer Frances D'Emilio contributed to this report from Rome.
"We REALLY need those cameras on public transportation, around sensitive locations. That was THE key to these arrests.They wouldn't have known where to begin without the pics."
Had you asked me before 9-11, I would have said, no way Jose. Today they are necessary as they could mean the difference between life and death.
The Brits are doing an excellent job, btw.
" EVERY da*n time we have a d**k head Democrat who doesn't understand what evil is in the world or right and wrong and thinks the therapy that worked for their f**ked up life will work for everybody else we get a s**tstorm for 30 years."
What is it about liberals who refuse to recognize real evil and pretend that GW is evil?
I must warn you: there is no end of tricks with these damned Norwegians. They are masters of disguise.
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