Author: Agencies
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 12, 2006
Introduction: One woman with a child among
24 arrested. Probe goes global
British authorities on Friday identified 19
of the 24 suspected terrorists who allegedly plotted to destroy US-bound commercial
jetliners and froze their assets, while investigators probed their movements,
backgrounds and finances.
Many of the names released by the Bank of
England, acting on an order from the government, were of Muslim origin, many
of which are common in Pakistan. The suspects ranged in age from 17 to 35.
At least one of the 24 people arrested was reportedly a woman with a small
child; another was a convert to Islam.
In Pakistan, authorities arrested five people,
bringing the total number of suspects held there to seven. A Pakistani official
said the five Pakistanis were believed to have been helping two British citizens
who were taken into custody there a week ago. The arrests were made in Lahore
and Karachi.
The Guardian newspaper, citing unidentified
British government sources, said that after the first two arrests were made
in Pakistan, a message was sent to Britain telling the plotters, "do
your attacks now." That message was intercepted and decoded earlier this
week, the paper said.
Authorities pressed ahead with efforts to
smash the purported terror ring. Two US officials said British, US and Pakistani
investigators were trying to trace the steps of the suspects in Pakistan and
were seeking to determine whether a couple of them attended terrorist training
camps there.
Imtiaz Qadir, of the Waltham Forest Islamic
Association, said one of the suspects was a woman in her 20s who had a 6-month
old child. "They have taken the child too, because it needs to be with
its mother," he said.
Neighbours identified another suspect as Don
Stewart-Whyte, 21, from High Wycombe, a convert who changed his name to Abdul
Waheed. Ibrahim Savant, of Walthamstow, one of the names on the Bank of England
list, was a convert formerly known as Oliver, neighbours said.
British officials have made a point of praising
their counterparts in Pakistan for helping break the plot. But they have also
been keen to stress that the investigation that unfolded over more than a
year was British led, and that it is ongoing. "Most of the work was driven
and conducted here in the UK," said home secretary John Reid.
According to security experts, the investigation
into the plot will be multifaceted and spread across the world. "We know
that the Pakistanis and the US provided key information. So the investigation
is worldwide, but you may find other countries come into the frame,"
said a security analyst.
