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| Britain | ||
| Man quizzed in UK Iraq bomb probe | ||
| 2005-06-22 | ||
| Detectives are continuing to question the former flatmate of a man suspected of a suicide bomb attack in Iraq. The 40-year-old was arrested under terror laws in Manchester on Tuesday. Officers raided the house he is thought to have shared with a French man suspected of killing himself in an attack on coalition troops in February. Police are now trying to establish how the 41-year-old French national got to Iraq and if he had links to anyone else in the UK or abroad. The man being questioned is not thought to be related to the alleged suicide bomber, but police are describing him as an associate. The nationality of the man has not been revealed.
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Whatton of Greater Manchester Police said work was ongoing in Iraq and the UK to identify the individual suspected of carrying out the February attack. "Officers are searching the address looking for documents related to his journey to Iraq or links to anyone else. "People living in the house have been given assistance including moving them to a new venue while the search is under way." Whitehall officials said they were already aware of an established network which sends "jihadist" volunteers from the UK to Iraq to fight coalition forces. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the volunteers were mostly north African, and often carried European passports.
After the arrest, police distributed leaflets in the surrounding area to reassure residents. Neighbour Andrew Holmes, 43, said: "What I heard first was 30 coppers or thereabouts making a lot of noise and kicking someone's front door in next door but one. "About half an hour later, someone was arrested. This was about 4.30am or 5am. "I knew of the man but didn't really speak to him. He kept himself to himself. I certainly didn't know him well. He was an average-looking guy." Additional: The British-based suicide bomber who attacked coalition forces in Iraq was named in reports today as Idris Bazis. The 41-year-old French national is believed to have taken part in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq in February. Bazis’s former home in Moss Side, Manchester, was raided by armed police early yesterday morning and a 40-year-old man, of north African origin, was arrested under the Terrorism Act. It is thought the man had lived at the red-brick terrace house on Great Southern Street with Bazis before the suspected bomber travelled to Iraq. The man arrested in yesterday’s 5am raid, led by the Greater Manchester Police anti-terror unit, was being questioned by detectives at a secret location today. Searches of the house continued as police tried to establish how Bazis got to the Gulf and uncover his British support network. Bazis still has family living in Britain, according to reports, and they have also been questioned by police. | ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Look the BBC can't say Muslim and Terrorist in the same article. |
| Posted by: Ulereger Clavigum6227 2005-06-22 10:32 |