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.
They could use Las Islas Malvin---uh, hold it there, I meant, "The Falklands".
y'mean , no Mennonites , Amish or the like???
Londra: ambasciatore saudita, "Bin Laden sempre attivo" LONDRA - Osama bin Laden e' ancora attivo e che gli ordini di sferrare gli attentati partono spesso da lui. Lo ha dichiarato in un'intervista alla Reuters l'ambasciatore saudita a Londra, Turki al-Faisal. Il diplomatico ha accusato Al Qaida di violare gli insegnamento dell'Islam ma ritiene che la guerra in Iraq e la questione palestinese facilitino il reclutamento di estremisti. (Agr)
Where are the dreaded panties?
Are there 2 Haroon Rashid Aswats? One held in Pakistan and one in Zambia?
Yeah right. Even if this were true, they wouldn't have detonated the bombs WHILE WEARING the backpacks, JUST IN CASE they hurt themselves in the process. And how does he explain the bombs laced with nails/bolts/spikes that was found in the trunk of the car? Yeah, those wouldn't have hurt anyone. Furthermore, how does he explain the look of confusion on the face of one guy when the detonator went off but the full bomb did not? Was the guy confused because it was too big or too small of an explosion? Or was he confused because he thought Paradise wouldn't look like the inside of a tube train? Or was he confused because he didn't see 72 virgins standing there waiting for him? etc.
LOL!
Generally they had a lot harder time with the IRA. The provos weren't suicide bombers, they fully intended to stay alive and effective. Hence they didn't do stupid stuff like leaving clues with their names and addresses all over the shop.
What that meant was the IRA were *much* harder to catch than these clowns were. The difference between a top professional army and a third-world militia in terms of their tradecraft.
Our security people did catch quite a few active service units (ASUs) though, if you Google "Balcombe Street siege" you'll find an example. That was after a running gun battle that started with the ASU assassinating a popular media figure though, rather than any sort of detective work.
Usually the way ASU's were destroyed was more like what happened at Loughhall. Two ASU's were ambushed in the middle of trying to blow up a rural police station using a huge bomb in the bucket of a mechanical digger (I think you'd call it a "backhoe") by a whole lot of SAS hiding in the shrubbery nearby with mortars, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns and stuff like that. Not a good day for the boyos.
Those operations relied on informants in the IRA networks.
But England is an excellent example that when it's Irish or Scots that are acting out, that's who they go for.
I think it's pretty funny. The CJs misjudged the Brits. They thought since they're polite and don't carry they're pu$$ies. Even though they Bobbies don't carry, the guns ain't far away.
As soon as MI-5 got the green light they knew exactly where to go.
Ah, yes. Our 'ally' and 'friend' the Saudi family.
They hold our hand as the twist the knife.
;-)
We need to be looking for terrorists, not randomly searching handbags. We need to be looking, looking, looking. I thought that's what cops did. There are "tells" that a person who's carrying gives.
I saw an interview a security guy gave where he said they sent 15 people into a football game where they were checking bags, carrying weapons, and then told trained security forces to find them. You know what happened? They found 18. They found the 15 plus three off-duty cops who had their service weapons.
They could do it smart if the politicians would get their noses out of it. How can we cut the politicians off at the knees? They are not bright and they have way too much power. As if that's news to anyone. But that Bloomberg character has to go. He's a nightmare.
Now, guess who is the new Saudi ambassador to the US? Why, it's amazing that he is none other than Price Turki, the former head of Saudi intelligence. This is the guy who had direct connections and money exchanges with old Osama himself way back in Afganistan. Oh but, wait! The guy he is replacing actually got caught (his wife, that is... he was oblivious, of course) donating major funds to Al Queda. Are we to believe that the Saudis are really our buddies? Are we insane? No, we are addicted to Saudi oil and our SUV's need daily fixes.
The street and transport cameras did their job and the cops followed the bomb crumbs they dropped. We need similar cameras to help catch perps.
"Where are the dreaded panties?"
We will auction them off on EBay as fund raisers.
You nailed it.
When the bobbies, MI5 and the SAS loaners got the green light, they moved quickly and still are moving quickly.
Las Malvinas (a per the Argies) would be great for a Brit hideaway for the perps. The weather there is well beyond atrocious. It would not be a tropical Gitmo.
Fox saying, a little bit ago, yet another person arrested in northern London area, bringing to 8 arrested so far today. I don't think this 8th person is of Scotch/Irish descent, or blond-haired/blue-eyed, either. : )
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