Gulf Times : Three more charged over UK ‘bomb plot’

Three more charged over UK ‘bomb plot’

August 30, 2006

LONDON: Three more people have been charged in connection with the foiled alleged terror plot to blow up US-bound passenger aircraft from Britain, bringing the total number to 15, a police spokesman said yesterday.

Nabeel Hussain, Mohamed Yasar Gulzar and Mohamed Shamin Uddin were among the 25 people arrested since police staged pre-dawn raids on August 10 in connection with the plot. Five have since been released without charge.

Police also have warrants to quiz the remaining five until today. Under British anti-terror laws, suspects can be detained for up to 28 days without being charged, subject to regular court approval.

Hussain, Gulzar and Uddin bring the total number of the terror suspects to face the most serious charge of conspiracy to murder to 11. They will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court today.

Umair Hussain, 24, was last week charged under anti-terror legislation for failing to disclose information about Nabeel, his brother.

Of the remaining 11 facing charges, eight others, in addition to the three charged yesterday, are accused of conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism, and will appear in court again on September 4.

The remaining three, including one young mother, were remanded in custody yesterday when they made brief appearances in court.

Of the three, two were charged with withholding information about an impending terrorist attack, including Mehran Hussain, another of Nabeel Hussain’s brothers.

The third, a 17-year-old youth who cannot be named because he is a minor, was accused of possessing a book about bomb-making, suicide notes and wills, and a map of Afghanistan with information "likely to be useful" to someone planning an attack.

Security at British airports was stepped up to unprecedented levels in the aftermath of the police raids on August 10, with the country upgrading its threat level to ‘critical’ – the highest of five levels.

The suspects were allegedly planning to smuggle seeming innocuous liquids on to planes with the intention of assembling them into bombs on board.

– AFP