mrg666
03-22-2007, 06:51 PM
LONDON, March 22 — The British counterterrorism police seized three men today for offenses related to the London bombings — the first arrests since four suicide bombers killed themselves and 52 travelers on the London transit system on July 7, 2005.
Two of the men aged 23 and 30 were arrested around 1 p.m. local time today at the Manchester airport in the northwest of England as they were preparing to board a flight to Pakistan. A third man, aged 26, was arrested at a house in Leeds three hours later, the police said. Several of the July 7 bombers had close links to Leeds.
The arrests were presented by the police as evidence and vindication of a painstaking inquiry since July 2005 to establish whether the London bombers, who exploded backpack bombs on three subway cars and a double-decker bus, had accomplices or worked for shadowy mastermind. Indeed, the arrests today renewed speculation that the attacks could not have been committed on July 7 without sophisticated backup.
The police moved in at a delicate time in an array of counterterrorism inquiries. Six men are currently on trial following failed bombing attempts in London on July 21, 2005. Another trial of seven men on terrorism charges is nearing its close. Arrested in 2004, the seven men are charged with involvement in a criminal conspiracy to make explosives to commit murder, allegations that they all deny.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/world/europe/22cnd-britain.html?hp
Two of the men aged 23 and 30 were arrested around 1 p.m. local time today at the Manchester airport in the northwest of England as they were preparing to board a flight to Pakistan. A third man, aged 26, was arrested at a house in Leeds three hours later, the police said. Several of the July 7 bombers had close links to Leeds.
The arrests were presented by the police as evidence and vindication of a painstaking inquiry since July 2005 to establish whether the London bombers, who exploded backpack bombs on three subway cars and a double-decker bus, had accomplices or worked for shadowy mastermind. Indeed, the arrests today renewed speculation that the attacks could not have been committed on July 7 without sophisticated backup.
The police moved in at a delicate time in an array of counterterrorism inquiries. Six men are currently on trial following failed bombing attempts in London on July 21, 2005. Another trial of seven men on terrorism charges is nearing its close. Arrested in 2004, the seven men are charged with involvement in a criminal conspiracy to make explosives to commit murder, allegations that they all deny.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/world/europe/22cnd-britain.html?hp