Last week the police confirmed that all nine of the suspected “foot soldiers” in the July 7 and 21 London bombings are either dead or in custody. However, despite the on-going raids that stretched from Britain to Italy, the mastermind of the deadly attacks still believed to be at large.
After a series of dramatic police raids last week, authorities say they now hold all four of the suspects who were wanted in the failed July 21 bombing.
Police captured two of the men in the London neighbourhood of Notting Hill. One is identified as Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27. Police say the other man detained has identified himself only as Ramzi Muhammad. Italian authorities say another suspect has been arrested in Rome. He is identified as Osman Hussain, a British national of Somali descent. All suspects are currently being questioned by the police.
Links to Tel Aviv Attack
Information also emerged that the London bombers may be linked to the 2003 Tel Aviv suicide attacks, believed to have been planned by British nationals. The Independent newspaper reported that Mohammed Sidique Khan, one of the London suicide bombers, was friendly with Omar Sharif, one of two Britons who plotted the Tel Aviv pub explosion.
At present police efforts to uncover the mastermind of the London blasts are focusing on Khan’s relationship with Sharif. A possible link emerged last week after it was disclosed that Khan had visited Israel for a day in February 2003, possibly on a mission from Sharif.
Sharif failed to detonate his device; but his co-conspirator Hanif carried out the attack, claiming three lives in Tel Aviv two years ago. Sharif ran off, but his body was later washed up on a nearby coast.
Israel Warned About London Blasts
According to the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Israel’s intelligence (Mossad) office in London received advance notice about the July 7 attacks, but only six minutes before the first blast. As a result, it was impossible to take any action to prevent the blasts, which claimed 52 lives.
After analysing the explosive material used in the Tel Aviv attack, the Mossad concluded it was produced in China and later smuggled into Britain, the paper reports. The explosives were apparently very similar to the ones used in London.
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