British police hunt terror masterminds

LONDON – British police deployed in large numbers in London yesterday, maintaining a high alert as they hunted for the masterminds behind two waves of terror attacks and awaited news of a bid to extradite a suspected bomber from Rome.

Anxious to thwart any other plots, police were investigating whether there was a network or networks behind failed bombings July 21 and the deadliest ever terror attack on Britain July 7, both on London subway trains and buses. The Times said another suicide bombing squad, linked to the four suspected July 7 suicide bombers, was plotting a third attack on the capital but police at Scotland Yard played down the report as “media speculation”.Nevertheless, police officers were deployed in force around the city, hoping to calm fears among commuters.”It is a continuation of the high profile policy we started after July 7,” said a spokesman for the British Transport Police, referring to the higher police presence in the city since suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers slaughtered 56 people, including themselves, on three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus.In a fast-moving investigation, police arrested seven more people Sunday in southern England over the botched terror attacks on July 21, when an attempt to repeat the carnage of July 7 was frustrated by faulty bombs that failed to off properly.The arrests brought the total number of people in custody over the attacks to 19, including one key suspect in Italy.The suspect captured in Italy – Hamdi Issac, also known as Osman Hussain – is one of four men accused of the bungled July 21 bombings.The other three suspects are already behind bars in London.Britain was expected to deliver papers requesting Issac’s extradition yesterday – a move which the 27-year-old, who was arrested in Rome on Friday, has reportedly vowed to resist.The Ethiopian-born Briton is the target of a European arrest warrant issued by Britain, and is also suspected of “international terrorism,” an offence created in Italy following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.An Italian magistrate was to question him Monday to establish whether he can be charged on the second count.Italian authorities have 60 days, a period that could be extended another 30 days, to decide whether to extradite him.Police in the Italian capital are also holding two of Issac’s brothers.Detectives in London’s high-security Paddington Green police station were interrogating the other three alleged July 21 bombers – Eritrean-born Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, Somali-born Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, and Ramzi Mohammed, whose age and ethnic background have not been released.Ibrahim and Mohammed were arrested in a west London flat during a raid by heavily armed elite police on Friday.Hassan Omar was arrested on Wednesday in a pre-dawn raid on a house in the central English city of Birmingham.The Daily Telegraph reported that Issac and Said Ibrahim had links with Saudi Arabia.Police warned that despite the arrest of all four suspected July 21 bombers, the threat of further attacks remained “very real”.They are intent on tracking down the ringleaders: the chemists who made the explosive mixture used in the bombs, the technicians who put them together and the ideologues who inspired them.”There were quite a few other people involved in the incidents of the 7th and the 21st.It’s extremely likely there will be other people involved in harbouring, financing and making the devices,” a police spokeswoman said.British authorities have also said they are seeking access to a man – described by US and British media as a senior al Qaeda figure and the ringleader of the July 7 attacks – who is being held in Zambia.Zambian police said on Sunday that British national Haroon Aswat, 31, who was arrested on July 20 in Lusaka, would be handed over to British authorities.- Nampa-AFPThe Times said another suicide bombing squad, linked to the four suspected July 7 suicide bombers, was plotting a third attack on the capital but police at Scotland Yard played down the report as “media speculation”.Nevertheless, police officers were deployed in force around the city, hoping to calm fears among commuters.”It is a continuation of the high profile policy we started after July 7,” said a spokesman for the British Transport Police, referring to the higher police presence in the city since suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers slaughtered 56 people, including themselves, on three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus.In a fast-moving investigation, police arrested seven more people Sunday in southern England over the botched terror attacks on July 21, when an attempt to repeat the carnage of July 7 was frustrated by faulty bombs that failed to off properly.The arrests brought the total number of people in custody over the attacks to 19, including one key suspect in Italy.The suspect captured in Italy – Hamdi Issac, also known as Osman Hussain – is one of four men accused of the bungled July 21 bombings.The other three suspects are already behind bars in London.Britain was expected to deliver papers requesting Issac’s extradition yesterday – a move which the 27-year-old, who was arrested in Rome on Friday, has reportedly vowed to resist.The Ethiopian-born Briton is the target of a European arrest warrant issued by Britain, and is also suspected of “international terrorism,” an offence created in Italy following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.An Italian magistrate was to question him Monday to establish whether he can be charged on the second count.Italian authorities have 60 days, a period that could be extended another 30 days, to decide whether to extradite him.Police in the Italian capital are also holding two of Issac’s brothers.Detectives in London’s high-security Paddington Green police station were interrogating the other three alleged July 21 bombers – Eritrean-born Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, Somali-born Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, and Ramzi Mohammed, whose age and ethnic background have not been released.Ibrahim and Mohammed were arrested in a west London flat during a raid by heavily armed elite police on Friday.Hassan Omar was arrested on Wednesday in a pre-dawn raid on a house in the central English city of Birmingham.The Daily Telegraph reported that Issac and Said Ibrahim had links with Saudi Arabia.Police warned that despite the arrest of all four suspected July 21 bombers, the threat of further attacks remained “very real”.They are intent on tracking down the ringleaders: the chemists who made the explosive mixture used in the bombs, the technicians who put them together and the ideologues who inspired them.”There were quite a few other people involved in the incidents of the 7th and the 21st.It’s extremely likely there will be other people involved in harbouring, financing and making the devices,” a police spokeswoman said.British authorities have also said they are seeking access to a man – described by US and British media as a senior al Qaeda figure and the ringleader of the July 7 attacks – who is being held in Zambia.Zambian police said on Sunday that British national Haroon Aswat, 31, who was arrested on July 20 in Lusaka, would be handed over to British authorities.- Nampa-AFP