 Muktar Said Ibrahim and Yasin Hassan Omar were lovers and two brothers lived in the flat raided by police yesterday in north London, a friend of the men told the Telegraph last night. All had families who came from Eritrea and moved to Saudi Arabia before coming to this country when they were young, the friend said.
| It had to be there or Pakistan... |
Ibrahim, 27, was educated at a local secondary school, mixed easily with youths of his age and went clubbing in London, the friend claimed. Although he still regularly stayed at the flat, he had recently moved to Hackney, near where the bus bomb failed to go off. Police wish to speak to him in connection with Thursday's incident.
"We'd like to have a little talk with you, Mukkers."
"Ummm... I'll get my coat..."
"You won't need your coat." |
The news that the men were shacking up lived together came after police raided the ninth floor, one-bedroom council flat in New Southgate at 1.30am yesterday. The friend, who asked not to be named, said: "Ibrahim was born in Saudi Arabia and came here when he was 13 or 14. His parents still live in Saudi Arabia but his mother visits and he also has a brother and sister here. I never saw him with a girlfriend, he was always the quiet one, but they all knew each other from back home and often spoke in Arabic. He lives in Hackney now but often stays around here, and Yasin sleeps here most of the time. At school he was always kind of quiet and everyone liked him. He had a good heart and always looked after everyone. He put everyone before himself.
| "He's just the sweetest guy..." |
"But he owed some money for a car he'd bought and some people were threatening him. Until then we all used to go clubbing together and go back to his flat afterwards.
"He went to Saudi Arabia in 2003 for two or three months. He said he was going training for a year but we didn't know what he meant and he didn't stay that long. He was always saying 'I can't wait to go to Saudi'.
| So such training as he received, he received in Soddy Arabia. Naturally, there will be no record... |
"But he was changing before he went and he had grown a big beard. I was surprised to see in the picture he'd shaved it off because they were all growing them and sometimes he even wore traditional dress.
| "He quit wearing underwear and started using henna. Too much henna..." |
"I thought it was a bit weird but you couldn't say anything to them. They always said I wasn't taking my religion seriously enough.
| "You can't be a Muslim widdout a beard. Yer prayers won't work. Everybody knows that." |
"They talked about the Koran every second but they still went out and played football every Sunday with us in Arnos Park."
| "Mukkers! You got such a big koran!" |
The friend said Ibrahim did not go to local mosques and preferred those in Finsbury Park and Brixton.
| Definitely in with the in crowd... |
Ibrahim was said to have shared the flat with Omar, a man called George and at least one other man.
| In a one-bedroom apartment... I think I'll go wash my mind out with soap. |
| Here's a Brillo pad for your eyeballs ... |
There is no evidence to link the other men with the bombings.
| Bet they could tell some stories, though... |
Sammy Jones, 33, a neighbour, said she recognised Ibrahim as soon as she saw the new picture yesterday. "I only knew them to say hello to and he never really said anything to me. I know George, he's in his late 20s and he's been living at the block for quite a few years. But the others have only been around for two or three years. They're in and out every day. I saw George loading brown cardboard boxes into the lift about three or four weeks ago. They were heavy and there were loads of them. He said it was wallpaper stripper."
| I really think they should talk to George... |
Omar, 24, the other man who was identified, is wanted in connection with a bomb that failed to go off on a train near Warren Street. He was seen at Stockwell station, carrying a purple rucksack, at the same time as two of the other men. |