7/7 suspect arrested in UK
2005-08-07 22:32
London - Haroon Aswat, a Briton apprehended in Zambia two weeks ago and reportedly wanted in connection with last month's deadly bomb attacks in London, was arrested on his arrival in Britain on Sunday after being deported from Lusaka, Scotland Yard announced.
"Haroon Rashid Aswat ... was arrested by metropolitan police officers following receipt of a US request for his extradition," Scotland Yard said in a statement.
According to the BBC, Aswat arrived at a Royal Air Force base in Northolt, west of London, on Sunday.
Aswat, 31, has been named in US and British media reports as the alleged mastermind behind the July 7 blasts that killed 56 people including four suicide bombers, but British police have not confirmed that he is wanted in connection with the attacks.
Aswat was deported from Zambia early on Sunday, leaving Lusaka international airport on a chartered plane to Britain.
US authorities have also reportedly sought to question Aswat over alleged attempts to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon.
US media said on July 22, the day after four abortive attacks on London's transport system, that US police and intelligence agencies were taking part in the hunt for Aswat.
They said that the four suicide bombers behind the July 7 attacks had made about 20 calls to him on his cellphone.
Aswat, who spent time in South Africa and Botswana before entering Zambia on July 6, had been on a watch list of Western intelligence agencies who tipped off Zambian authorities.
- AFP