Homeland Security

DATE=7/30/05

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=LONDON BOMBINGS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-326278

BYLINE=MICHAEL DRUDGE

DATELINE=LONDON

HEADLINE: Police Question London Bomb Suspects

INTRO: British and Italian police are questioning five men arrested in connection with the attempted bombing of London's mass transport network last week (on July 21st). The interrogations come a day after a string of dramatic police raids in London and Rome. VOA's Michael Drudge has more from the British capital.

TEXT: Four of the suspects are being questioned at London's high security Paddington Green police station. A fifth man is in custody of Italian police in Rome.

They are all suspected of having roles in the bungled attempt to blow up three London subway trains and a bus on July 21st.

British police can hold their suspects for 14 days while they try to develop a case.

A British terrorism expert, Hugh McManus, says police will want to respect the legal and human rights of the suspects, so as not to jeopardize any future prosecution.

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"The questioning sessions will take place in the usual fashion with two detectives present, the whole thing being recorded, and for no longer than an hour, that sort of period of time. And of course, once the 14-day period is over, the police can then apply to court with the evidence that they've got for an extension."

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Police have given the following information on the suspects:

Yasin Hassan Omar is a 24-year-old man originally from Somalia who came to Britain as a refugee in 1992. He is suspected of trying to bomb a subway train on the Victoria Line near Warren Street station.

Muktar Said Ibrahim is 27 years old and was born in Eritrea. He gained British citizenship in 2004. Police say he tried to blow up a bus in East London.

Ramzi Mohammed was arrested along with Muktar Said Ibrahim in a raid in London's Notting Hill neighborhood. His age and birthplace have not been released. Police say he is believed to have tried to bomb a Northern Line subway train.

Another suspect arrested in London Friday has not been officially identified by police. British media have named him as Wahbi Mohammed and say he is Ramzi Mohammed's brother. He was arrested at an apartment near a park where a bomb similar to those that failed to explode was found on July 23rd.

Italian police are holding a fifth suspect, identified by the Interior Ministry as Osman Hussein, originally from Ethiopia. British police have traveled to Rome to question the man, suspected of planting a bomb on London's Hammersmith and City subway line.

As the interrogations proceed, London police remain on high alert because authorities have warned that other undetected terrorist cells could be operating in the capital.

The city of eight million residents has been on edge since July 7th, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 passengers on the capital's mass transit system. (Signed)

NEB/MWD/KL