Two more suspected bombers arrested in London

[skunk]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4727975.stm
'Two bomb suspects' held in raids

Two more of the failed London bombing suspects are believed to have been arrested as police carried out a number of armed operations in west London.
They were thought to be the men wanted for the Oval Tube and No 26 bus attacks of 21 July, said a BBC correspondent.

Police moved residents to safety during two raids, in Notting Hill and north Kensington, and made three arrests.

Officers also arrested two women who were reportedly pinned to the ground in a queue at Liverpool Street station.

Police are still questioning a third suspect arrested on Wednesday in Birmingham.

Gas masks

Yasin Hassan Omar was wanted as a suspect in the Warren Street Tube attempted bombing.

The properties raided on Friday are in Dalgarno Gardens, North Kensington and the Tavistock Road area of Notting Hill, less than a mile away.

Eyewitnesses say they heard three shots and a large explosion as officers wearing gas masks entered one property.

In Dalgarno Gardens officers were continually shouting at someone in a flat to come out. They were addressing him as "Muhammad".

The police asked him: "What is the problem? Why can't you come out?

"Take your clothes off. Exit the building. Do you understand?"
Officers told other residents on the 350-property estate to "get inside now".

Scotland Yard said they were not aware of firearms having been used.

In an separate raid in Notting Hill one eyewitness says a man dressed in a white forensic overall was taken away in an unmarked police car.

Another has spoken of seeing three other people being taken away in a police van.

Chris Stokes told BBC News: "We got told to move out of the way by armed police and within about five minutes we heard three gunshots go off behind the block of flats at Tavistock Crescent."

It is very scary when something like this can happen on your doorstep
Randy Wolff, Ladbroke Rovers, Ladbroke Grove, London
Allan Sneddon, who lives nearby, told BBC News: "There was this almighty bang... big enough to shake the ground."

BBC Correspondent Jane Hughes said: "Police are regarding this as a very significant event - a very significant piece of police activity. "Looks like things are moving ahead quite smartly here.

[zimv20]

Looks like things are moving ahead quite smartly here.
the simple step of recognizing it as a police matter gives you a nice headstart.

[mactastic]

You guys can't think of a single country you'd like to invade? Now's the time...

[skunk]

The last one has just been arrested in Rome. How the hell he got out of the country is a bit of a mystery.

[skunk]

You guys can't think of a single country you'd like to invade? Now's the time...We seem to be in the process of uninvading Ireland, as it happens. Whatever next?

Army begins dismantling its posts
The Army has begun dismantling a number of security posts and bases in south Armagh following the IRA's statement saying it had ended its armed campaign.
A base at Forkhill will close, while a watchtower at Sugarloaf Mountain and an observation post at Newtownhamilton police station will also be removed.

The British and Irish governments are considering the next steps to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

An updated programme of "security normalisation" will be published soon.

Commenting on the posts' closure, the Army's general officer commanding, Lieutenant General Sir Reddy Watt, said: ''In light of yesterday's developments, the chief constable and I have decided that a further reduction in security profile is possible.''
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4726249.stm

[Dave00]

[posted elsewhere before I realized there was already a thread]

The amount of international cooperation on this one has been phenomenal, probably unprecedented. One July 21 bomber arrested in Italy, the other 3 in England, and suspects detained in Zambia and Pakistan, among other places. I have to admit I never thought all four would be taken alive. Hopefully all their associates, especially the person responsible for the "5th bomb", are also in custody or will be soon. A great day for the civilized world. Hopefully they'll get this Aswat character soon too (is that pronounced like it seems like it should be?)

Dave

[Applespider]

The last one has just been arrested in Rome. How the hell he got out of the country is a bit of a mystery.

Presumably before they released the CCTV images which wasn't til Friday pm? Late flight on Thursday evening or early on Friday morning and you'd be OK if they've got no names to look out for... and of course, you've packed any sharp or dangerous objects in your hold baggage. ;)

EDIT - OK so he only left London 2 days ago and went via Paris. What was the Eurostar check-in person thinking? I assume that even though a name wasn't public, the ports would have had a list of suspects. :confused:

[pulsewidth947]

Well that was amazingly quick!

I think its fair to say if they are indeed the suspected bombers and go to jail, they'll be in for a hard time. Can't say I'd lose much sleep over that if indeed they were planning on killing people.

[Peyote]

You guys can't think of a single country you'd like to invade? Now's the time...


HAHAHAHA


post of the month!

[absolut_mac]

The last one has just been arrested in Rome. How the hell he got out of the country is a bit of a mystery.

Remember that they only had his picture from a CCTV to go on for the first couple of days, no names were available then, and it wasn't exactly a high resolution shot to start off with.

On the other hand, if someone with keen eyesight had been following the news, he might have been caught while trying to skip the country.

Still, you have to hand it to the Brits for excellent police work (although it's sad about the Brazilian guy) and to the Europeans for some outstanding international cooperation.

IMHO, this type of cooperation and sharing of vital terrorist info is the only way to keep us all safe, regardless of which country we live in.

[iGav]

Off with their heads, and stick em' on some spikes at The Tower.

[pulsewidth947]

Off with their heads, and stick em' on some spikes at The Tower.
LOL! Old skool justice..

[zimv20]

link (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article302774.ece)


Extraordinary admission to interrogators by London bomb suspect

A suspected member of the 21 July bomb cell has told investigators he was motivated by the Iraq war, not religion

Osman Hussain, suspected of attempting to blow up commuters in Shepherd's Bush, west London, has given an extraordinary account of a plot hatched in a basement gym in Notting Hill, according to leaks from his interrogation by Italian investigating magistrates.

The suspected would-be bomber is reported to have denied links to the cell that killed 52 people two weeks earlier. But that outrage acted as a "signal" for the second gang to launch its own attack.

The 27-year-old Ethiopian-born Briton, also known as Isaac Hamdi, was questioned by two judges after being arrested in Rome on Friday.

"Rather than praying, we had discussions about work, politics, the war in Iraq," Hussain said of the gatherings in the gym, according to La Repubblicanewspaper and an Italian news agency.

The would-be bombers watched films, "especially those in which you saw women and children killed and exterminated by the English and American soldiers, or widows, mothers and daughters who were crying".

The propaganda helped to foster the group's "political conviction that it is necessary to give a signal, to do something", Hussain was quoted by La Repubblica as saying.

"We never had contacts with the Bin Laden organisation. We knew that they existed. We had access to their platforms through the internet, but nothing direct."

He told investigators the cell was surprised by the 7 July bombs. "We have no link with the Pakistanis," he said. However, his group took the 7 July carnage as a signal that it should also act.

According to another report, from the Ansa Italian news agency, Hussain said: "We had to do something. We had to react to the climate of hatred and hostility that was created after the 7 July bombs. We were not supposed to kill anyone. That bomb would not have been able to cause victims."

The Italian Interior Ministry confirmed that the quotes from Hussain's interrogation in La Repubblicaand the Corriere della Serawere authentic but declined to comment on the source of the leaks.

The suspect was interrogated from Friday afternoon in Rome's Regina Coeli prison by Judges Franco Ionta and Pietro Saviotti.

A court-appointed defence lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, declined to confirm the speculation that her client may have decided to turn state's evidence.

It was not clear that Britain's request for the suspect to be extradited would be granted. The first stage of a preliminary extradition hearing was held yesterday but Rome's Court of Appeal may rule he should remain in Italy as part of an investigation into the killing of an Italian citizen in the 7 July bombings.

If extradited, Hussain will join four other suspects being questioned at Paddington Green police station, three of who have been named as Muktar Said Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohammed and Yasin Hassan Omar. The fifth suspect has not been named.

[skunk]

Now what's Bliar going to say?

[Dave00]

Argument doesn't hold water. There is much evidence both that there were connections between the July 7/July 21 bombers, and that the bombs were indeed intended to go off.

(1) Similarities: The explosive - which is not easy to make - was the same. I believe (could be wrong on this one) they both had the whitewater rafting connection. Same London mosque.

(2) That they intended for the bombs to go off: there was eyewitness testimony that at least one of the bombers from 7/21 still had the backpack on when it went off, and testimony that he was surprised to still be alive. More testimony that another cursed when there was no explosion.

It's interesting that all this stuff has been leaked to the press by the one bomber's Italian court-appointed attorney. Smacks of an effort to avoid extradition. Don't believe a word of it.

[mactastic]

i]Now[/i] what's Bliar going to say?
He's going to say "Don't forget to format text properly, and stop calling me a b-liar."

[skunk]

He's going to say "Don't forget to format text properly, and stop calling me a b-liar."Fair enough.
:(

[skunk]

Argument doesn't hold water. There is much evidence both that there were connections between the July 7/July 21 bombers, and that the bombs were indeed intended to go off.If it's the same kind of evidence that said the Brazilian was wearing a padded jacket and vaulted the barrier, it's open to question.

[Nickygoat]

If it's the same kind of evidence that said the Brazilian was wearing a padded jacket and vaulted the barrier, it's open to question.
According to the news the dets were of the same variety (not going to post what). This particular type is difficult to make and has a short shelf life. I had some explosives training (not in Afghanistan ;) ) and this particular one is a b**** to handle - it deserves it's nickname (Mother of Satan). There are more common. more reliable dets available if you have the know how or contacts. The use of the same material in a relatively short space of time suggests, but not confirms, a link. Eg the IRA never used this type of detonator, nor have any other terrorist groups except Al-Qaeda affiliates.
Osman is claiming not to have any links with Al-Qaeda but had access to web materials from them. His story is that they were never designed to take life just scare people. My take? They were designed to emulate 7/7 but the men involved were incompetent - MoS has a life of 7 days and they waited 14.

[dubbz]

Off with their heads, and stick em' on some spikes at The Tower.

Why bother taking off the heads? They should just skip to the "stick em' on some spikes" part.

[mactastic]

Ah the old Vlad the Impaler technique...