Monday, July 02, 2007
LONDON, GLASGOW, BRISBANE
Now we have a local angle:
An eighth suspect connected to a plot to blow up car bombs in London and Scotland has been arrested in Brisbane, police have confirmed.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has confirmed a man has been arrested at Brisbane airport in relation to the UK bomb plots.
The 27-year-old Brisbane man was arrested at the airport at 11pm yesterday.
A search warrant has been issued for further investigation in Brisbane.
UPDATE II. It’s apparently another disenfranchised doctor:
A 27-year-old Queensland doctor was arrested at Brisbane Airport last night in connection with Britain’s foiled car bomb terror plot, authorities have confirmed.
UPDATE III. Medico mania:
An Iraqi physician and a Palestinian doctor working at British hospitals were identified Monday among those held in the failed car bomb attacks on London and Glasgow ...
British media reported at least five of the eight people now in custody were doctors, but police would confirm only the two physicians whose names were released.
UPDATE IV. The guy is a Gold Coast hospital registrar:
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock confirmed his employment at the Gold Coast Hospital at Southport and said a search warrant had been executed at the premises ...
The Brisbane resident - who is not an Australian citizen - was arrested at the airport at 11pm last night. He had been attempting to leave the country on a one-way ticket. He has not been charged.
UPDATE V. The Independent reports:
A suspected secret cell of foreign militants, believed to be linked to al-Qa’ida and using British hospitals as cover, are being questioned over the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow …
Until now, cases of Islamist terrorism have involved mainly Muslims who were born and brought up in Britain. The alleged arrival of teams from abroad to carry out attacks, their identities unknown to the domestic law agencies, adds another dimension to the terrorist threat being faced in the United Kingdom.
UPDATE VI. What’s with all these doctors?
A second doctor is being questioned after the arrest overnight at Brisbane’s international airport of a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport over suspected links to the bomb plots in London and Scotland.
UPDATE VII. Emails seized:
Search warrants were executed across southeast Queensland today, including at the hospital, but no charges have been laid.
Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said no explosive material had been found.
But it is understood emails have been seized.