U.K. Bomb Probe Focuses on Chemist, Briton (Chemist studied in the United States)

LONDON - British and FBI officials investigating the London terror attacks focused Thursday on an Egyptian-born chemist who studied in the United States and an 18-year-old Briton of Pakistani descent believed to have set off the bomb aboard a red double-decker bus.

Security forces in camouflage searched the Beeston area of the northern city of Leeds as police tried to crack the network thought to have given the dead suspects planning, logistical and bomb-making support.

"We don't know if there is a fifth man, or a sixth man, a seventh man, or an eighth man," London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair told foreign journalists.

British authorities were seeking a Pakistani Briton with possible ties to al-Qaida followers in the United States, news reports said. They said he may have organized the attacks and chosen the targets, leaving Britain the day before the July 7 bombings.

"Al-Qaida is not an organization. Al-Qaida is a way of working ... but this has the hallmarks of that approach," Blair said of the attacks, which killed 53 people, including four bombers. "Al-Qaida clearly has the ability to provide training ... to provide expertise ... and I think that is what has occurred here."

FBI agents in Raleigh, N.C., joined the search for the chemist, Magdy Asi el-Nashar, a 33-year-old former North Carolina State University graduate student. The doors were locked Thursday at the building at Leeds University where he recently taught chemistry.

And in a further international development in the inquiry, Jamaica's government said it was investigating a Jamaican-born Briton as one of the bombers.

Britain paid tribute Thursday to those killed in the attacks with two minutes of silence. Office workers spilled out into the streets, construction crews put down their tools and held hard hats in their hands and London's famous black cabs pulled to the side of the road.

Queen Elizabeth II stood motionless outside Buckingham Palace and a crowd, many wiping away tears and bowing their heads, filled Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar is about 1 1/2 miles from Tavistock Square, where Hasib Hussain, 18, allegedly set off the bomb that killed 13 people aboard the bus. That blast occurred nearly an hour after three London Underground trains blew up, and investigators don't yet know what Hussain did during that hour or when he boarded the bus.

Trying to map out Hussain's movements, police appealed for information from anyone who may have seen him in or around King's Cross station, where the four suspects parted ways. They released a closed-circuit television image showing him wearing a large camping-style backpack as he strode through a train station in Luton, outside London, about 2 1/2 hours before he allegedly blew up the No. 30 bus. He had a mustache and wore jeans, a white shirt, and a dark zip-up top or jacket.

"Did you see this man at King's Cross?" Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch, asked in a televised appeal. "Was he alone or with others? Do you know the route he took from (King's Cross) station? Did you see him get on to a No. 30 bus?

The young men traveled together from Luton to King's Cross just before the blasts, police said.

Police officially identified two of the suicide bombers Thursday, Hussain and Shahzad Tanweer, 22, whom they say attacked a subway train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate stations.

Both were Britons of Pakistani descent, as was Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, identified by the media as one of the bombers. Reports say the fourth attacker was Jamaican-born Briton Lindsey Germaine.

Jamaican Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Wilton Dyer said officials were waiting for Britain to confirm the identity of the suspect before they could help in identifying his possible origins in Jamaica. "They (British officials) say they are not in a position to identify this man, they need more forensics," Dyer told The Associated Press.

Blair said finding those who planned the attack "is the absolute focus of the current investigation." An outside mastermind may have recruited the four bombers, provided explosives, helped build the bombs or given other logistical support.

The Times of London said investigators believe a Pakistani Briton in his 30s with possible links to al-Qaida may have orchestrated the attacks. They believe he arrived in Britain last month and left just ahead of the bombings, the newspaper said.

It reported that the man, whom it did not identify, was thought to have chosen the targets. There has been speculation that the bombers intended to hit four subway trains, but that Hussain got on the bus instead because one Underground lined had been halted by mechanical problems.

The Times said detectives also want to locate el-Nashar, who was thought to have rented one of the homes police searched in Leeds in a series of raids Tuesday. Neighbors reported el-Nashar recently left Britain, saying he had a visa problem, the newspaper said.

North Carolina State University spokesman Keith Nichols said a person named el-Nashar studied there as a graduate student in chemical engineering for a semester beginning in January 2000.

Peter Kilpatrick, the head of NCSU's chemical engineering department, said he handed over all his files on el-Nashar to FBI agents Thursday.

Members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Raleigh were working on the case, said Michael Saylor, who heads the Raleigh FBI office. He referred other questions to FBI headquarters in Washington, which declined comment.

While authorities searched for the chemist and the Pakistani Briton, British police were questioning a 29-year-old man they arrested in the Leeds raids. Britain's Press Association news agency has identified him as a relative of a suspected bomber.

Two of the attackers had brushes with the police before the bombings, and one had been linked loosely to another terror plot, news reports said.

Tanweer was reportedly arrested once for shoplifting, and Hussain had been questioned for disorderly behavior.

The Independent newspaper, citing police sources, said one suspect — it did not say which — had been linked loosely to a plot to build a large bomb near London. It said police described the link as a low-level "association."

That appeared to be a reference to a ring cracked in March 2004, when eight men were arrested across southern England in an operation that led to the seizure of half a ton of ammonium nitrate, a chemical fertilizer used in many bombings.

Counterterrorism officials have looked at whether the bombers in last week's attacks used plastic explosives, said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Among those considered, the official said, is a compound called TATP, or triacetone triperoxide.

In 2001, Richard Reid used an improvised shoe bomb rigged with TATP, which is difficult for bomb-sniffing dogs to detect, when he tried to board an airplane and blow it up over the Atlantic.

TATP is a highly unstable explosive made from commercially available chemicals such as acid, acetone and peroxide. Plastics are a broad category of explosives, some with military or commercial uses. TATP, however, is considered too unstable for such purposes.

Associated Press writers Stevenson Jacobs in Kingston, Jamaica, Emery P. Dalesio in Raleigh, N.C., Thomas Wagner in Leeds, England and Katherine Shrader in Washington contributed to this report.

Interesting note: "one loosely linked to another terrorist plot" (and an awfully big plot too)

"Two of the attackers had brushes with the police before the bombings, and one had been linked loosely to another terror plot, news reports said.

"Tanweer was reportedly arrested once for shoplifting, and Hussain had been questioned for disorderly behavior."

"That appeared to be a reference to a ring cracked in March 2004, when eight men were arrested across southern England in an operation that led to the seizure of half a ton of ammonium nitrate, a chemical fertilizer used in many bombings."

San Diego and suburban Detroit have their fair share of radical Islamofascists--probably more than in your neck of the woods. Raleigh/Durham is such a nice area. I believe I've posted before about my friend in NC who says the neighborhoods and malls are full of adherents of the "religion of peace." As London and the despicable car-bombing of Iraqi children the other day point out, even fellow Muslims are not immune from being murdered in the name of Islam.

Sheesh, and the left-leaning universities educate, defend and encourage these cretins to spread their hatred. (Like the lefties don't bother to listen to the virulent anti-semitism or read the pages from the Koran exhorting violence and war against the infidels!) So long as the Muslims hate Bush, they're A-OK in the liberal book.

Stay safe.

I stated on freerepublic that the organiser who organised this attack. Would leave the country before the attacks were carried out. Rather than staying in country to organise more attacks.

Why because the terrorist bombers carried identification. They were meant to be identified as British born Muslims so that we would blame the whole Islamic community in Britain, attack it. And so allow the Islamics to widen there recruitment to there perverted cause

If this is not true,l those terrorist bombers would of been sanitised before going on there mission.

More care would of been taken in santinising the whole op, logistics so that then the organiser could of activated other cells to continue the terror.

I want to win this war, mainly so that my mates can come home and I can concentrate on my family and career instead of being put into uniform, every six or so months

And the only way to win this war is to used tried and tested Counter Insurgency Operations and one important point is to win over the Muslim community not alienate them.

You may disagree with me, but is your disagreement based on solid military and intelligence tenets.

They were meant to be identified as British born Muslims so that we would blame the whole Islamic community in Britain, attack it. And so allow the Islamics to widen there recruitment to there perverted cause.

I don't disagree with this statement. The idea is to terrorize. What if what you suggest is true, about the desire to widen recruitment? Is this a deterrent to deploying internment camps, or is it a solemn reminder of their practical purpose? You didn't ask for the war, but it came to you. You can't wish it away. That's the way war works.

But you're avoiding my question: why can't the UK just let people speak their minds on this subject? If it comes right down to it, it might be that family and that job at stake. There might come a day when you want to say something that isn't approved by those in the main stream political parties. Who will be there to protect you if you don't stand up for the BNP opposition's right to speak its mind? I'll tell you who: no one. You'll be rounded up and locked down for uttering so much as a peep against the current government.

Ideas should stand or fall on their own. The right to associate with others in private, and the right to communicate ideas -- any ideas, should be something Brits defend, not attack. They don't come from the government, as I've tried to say. These are created in us by God. They're inborn rights: the right to speak freely, and the right to self-defense.

The voice you hate today, and want to silence, may be tantamount to your own tomorrow.

The BNP are hypocrites and traitors. They are the heirs of Oswald Mosley whom Winston sensibly had thrown in prison for the duration of the war.

As for being hypocrites, they're not particularly interested in terrorism - I have a long memory, and I remember this

Under Griffin's control, the National Front supported Libya's Colonel Gadaffi and Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. Griffin visited Tripoli in 1988 at Gadaffi's expense to look for funding from the Libyan regime.

To conclude, any opposition the BNP has to Muslims now is based on opportunism rather than conviction. They are random thugs who seek to legitimise street violence by suggesting they're really part of the political process. Their previous behaviour shows they're nothing but traitors, which is their heritage.

Sit way back in the room, now, if you'd be so kind.

Ivan

The BNP are hypocrites and traitors. They are the heirs of Oswald Mosley whom Winston sensibly had thrown in prison for the duration of the war.

That's beside the point. Who gives you the right to tell them they may not speak their minds? After all, it may be you who loses your right to free speech next. What either of us thinks about the BNP itself is irrelevant to the discussion.

You're being either obtuse or stupid. The BNP has no more right to incite violence than the mullahs do. As I've just proven, the BNP are doing it for less than wholesome reasons as well.

At present, the BNP is not only free to speak out, they stand for elections. I would suggest that both the BNP and the mullahs need to be sent to a Guantanmo Bay and set loose to kill each other. That is if the BNP doesn't revert to type and start asking them for money.

Ivan

The BNP has no more right to incite violence than the mullahs do.

Really? So you think your trusty western values will win the day? I beg to differ. Those trusty western values are exactly what the enemy is using against us all.

Think about it.

In any case, let people speak. If you're that serious about disagreeing with someone, don't just stop at hate speech prosecution. Go all out. Otherwise, just ignore them. The hate speech laws have no basis in legality under a system in which rights are inborn. Free speech isn't something you give people out of convenience. You may really dislike what they say when they exercises their rights.

But suit yourself. And by all means, go online in America and speak your mind.

What's scary is that the BNP message will resonate in the UK, due to all the other parties, being solidly on message regarding PC and Multiculturism.

This is the bane of European politics, all major parties are way out of step with their electorates, thus allowing all sorts of nasties to claim votes. The future may well be very nasty, unless the elites wake up.

Really? So you think your trusty western values will win the day? I beg to differ. Those trusty western values are exactly what the enemy is using against us all.

So we should ditch western values to save western values.

Um, try again.

Ivan

re :why can't the UK just let people speak their minds on this subject.

People do speak there mind, it is when people incite others to violence which is wrong.

Be it the Inmans or be it the BNP.

Yes there is political correctness in this country, there is also a strong anti political correctness.

We are a robust and I mean robust democracy which will still be here when you, I, and Osmar are rotting in our graves.

So just to reiterate we are not being jailed for speaking out minds.

The papers are full of condemnation of the Bombing from the left, Right, Christan, Jew Muslim.

What is not allowed is the encouragement of violence.

And we should go after all those who encourage it, in the Mosques as well as on the street, or will that offend your principles of free speech.

Going to ask you a question now John, what do you think we should do and how will it effect the global war on the terrorists.

Now that I agree with entirely. The elites on both the Left and Right do need to be hard on the Muslim community and tell them that if they want to avoid curbs on their behaviour, that they need to act like responsible citizens. Many Muslims do so, but there are far too many exceptions. If they don't, there will be paralysis in government and support for "nasties" on the ground.

Regards, Ivan

Dude, the enemy is inside the gates. It's a little late for 20th century, PC values. This is war, not afternoon tea. The whole strategy of terrorism is to get you thinking that you have to work within certain constraints in order to "fight fair." You will lose unless you rewrite the rules. It's your choice. But let people speak if you're serious at all about freedom. After all, it's because of what the Imams are saying in public that I know the whole 1.6+ million UK Muslims should be rounded up and deported. If you silence the BNP, you'll never know what they're up to.

And yes, I think American Muslims should be put into internment camps and shown the door, as well. It's a good thing I can still speak my mind about it, too.

Really? So you think your trusty western values will win the day? I beg to differ. Those trusty western values are exactly what the enemy is using against us all.

I said it before John on another thread and I will say it again you have no idea how we operate.

Just because we don't go on the streets and fire guns in the air or create hollywood films showing what Rambo's we are does not mean we don't know how to fight a war against terrorists.

We have more experience in this sort of conflict that America, Russia and Europe put together. And in all cases it is either win win or at a policy of containment while democratic values reassert them self's

You may find this hard to believe but we are more interested in results than headline grabbing news.

You have no idea what we are doing behind the scenes.

We don't need to be fed a steady stream of propaganda to stay the course or measure up to who has the biggest balls.

By the way we do.

I said it before John on another thread and I will say it again you have no idea how we operate.

Oh yes I do. You have bloody cameras in the streets. You spy on everyone, not just the "profiled." And you have speech laws. I can see that you prefer Big Brother over real security.

The multiculturalist experiment failed. Admit it.

After all, it's because of what the Imams are saying in public that I know the whole 1.6+ million UK Muslims should be rounded up and deported. If you silence the BNP, you'll never know what they're up to.

What part of "not only is the BNP free to speak, but they stand for elections" did you miss? Nick Griffin, who is a traitor to this country, actually stood for Parliament in the last election. How much more free do you want? In reality, the hate preaching mullahs and the BNP, since they advocate violence, should be put away. If you believe you have the right to speak up to incite violence, I urge you to see what happens if you form an angry mob. You'll be arrested, at the very least, for disturbing the peace.

And yes, I think American Muslims should be put into internment camps and shown the door, as well. It's a good thing I can still speak my mind about it, too.

Posturing. You know as well as I do that mass deportation of Muslims is not a realistic policy option. No Western government is going to allow itself to be seen to persecute a group on the basis of its race or religion. Your own President Bush knows this very well.

Ivan

The multiculturalist experiment failed. Admit it.

.I think this is the real gist of your argument not the war on terror.

Thanks for the debate John but as I said before I am more interested in talking about the best way to fight the terrorists not whether blacks and whites can live together in mutual harmony .

Thanks for the debate but unless its about the best way to fight the terrorists I am not interested. I am not running away, but if you don't like the idea of multicultural societies well thats your right, I do not feel strongly enough for or against to discuss that.

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