LONDON, 8 July 2007 — Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah, 27, one of the two suspects involved in the failed Jeep bomb attack on Glasgow Airport a week ago, was yesterday morning remanded in custody by magistrates at the City of Westminster Court in central London. He was formally arrested and charged late Friday evening.
He is the first suspect to be charged over the recent terrorist campaign involving two attempted car bombings in central London and an attack on Glasgow Airport’s arrivals terminal.
Police in the UK have detained six other alleged coconspirators, including the alleged ringleader Dr. Mohammed Asha — all of whom are being questioned at the high security Paddington Green police station in Edgware Road, central London. Australian police have also detained a seventh suspect, Dr. Mohammed Haneef, who had “concrete” links with the suspected Al-Qaeda-linked “sleeper cell” and who had previously worked in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Karen Jones of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the charge related to a suspected bomb attack in Glasgow on June 29 and the discovery of two suspected car bombs in London on June 30.
She confirmed that Dr. Abdullah was charged under the 1883 Explosive Substances Act, whereby he is alleged to have “unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom.”
The defendant spoke only to give his name and to confirm his date of birth.
Dr. Abdullahh, who was arrested at the scene of the Glasgow Airport attack on 30 June 2007, was committed to trial to appear at the Old Bailey on 27 July 2007, and if found guilty could be sentenced to a maximum life sentence. Before his arrest, Dr. Abdullah worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Scotland.
One man, Dr. Kafeel Ahmed, 27, from Bangalore, India, is still in a critical condition in a specialist burns unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary after suffering 90 percent burns in the incident.
The fast moving developments in the latest terror campaign against the UK, comes on the second anniversary of the July 7 London suicide bombings, which killed 52 people and the four bombers. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Olympics and London Minister Tessa Jowell yesterday morning joined relatives at King’s Cross station, where one of the bombs was detonated, for a remembrance ceremony at a memorial garden to the victims. The prime minister laid a wreath bearing the handwritten message: “In remembrance and with deepest sympathy.”
Hundreds of people were injured in the attacks on three Tube trains and a bus. Several victims of the attacks yesterday claimed they are struggling to deal with a complex and unwieldy compensation system. Some 118 out of 614 compensation claims made by victims have not yet been fully resolved. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority yesterday explained that the outstanding claims were the most serious ones, involving complicated calculations of loss of earnings and estimates for future care.
Although the UK’s Joint Terrorism Assessment Center (JTAC) on Thursday lowered the terror alert level from the highest “critical” to second highest “severe,” police remain on high alert, with a number of high-profile events such as Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the Live Earth concert and the first stage of the Tour de France taking place in London over the weekend.
According to a report in the Daily Mail newspaper, the British security forces seems to have successfully infiltrated extremist groups including Al-Qaeda. The newspaper claims this is one of the reasons why Scotland Yard and the MI5 have had such rapid success in this investigation.
Up to eight people, who have links with the groups, after “robust vetting,” are working for British police forces. According to The Daily Mail some of those may even have attended terrorist training camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Scotland Yard confirmed in the report that |all police officers and police staff, upon joining the Metropolitan Police Service and during their careers, undergo a range of security checks. These are robust and vary according to the type and sensitivity of the individual posting. We take matters of security very seriously and if any issues arise about individuals they may be subject to further assessment. This could lead to restrictions being put in place relating to where an individual may work in the organization or could lead to their dismissal.”
Meanwhile, failed asylum seeker and a “terrorist sleeper,” Omar Al-Tamimi, 37, a father-of-three from Bolton, was yesterday sentenced to nine years in jail for six terror offenses and 12 months each for two money laundering offenses, all to run concurrently. He was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of six charges of possessing material for the purpose of terrorism and two money-laundering charges.
Another man arrested with him, Yusuf Abdullahh, 30, who has since pleaded guilty to acquiring criminal property after more than £25,000 was wired to his account from Yemen, was jailed for three years.
Judge Maddison, the presiding judge, also recommended that Al-Tamimi be deported from the UK when his sentence is completed.
Greater Manchester Police described Al-Tamimi as “a sleeper remaining in the shadows waiting and preparing for action.” They confirmed that they found considerable terrorist material on Al-Tamimi’s computer, much of it downloaded from a “secret, password-protected Al-Qaeda Internet site” and including material suggesting bombing nightclubs and airports. Al-Tamimi, police stressed, also had at least three parallel identities.
