The Hindu : Front Page : Glasgow, London events “linked”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 02, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Glasgow, London events “linked”

Hasan Suroor

Three more held; U.K. put on “critical” alert

LONDON: Saturday’s botched suicide attack at Glasgow airport and the attempted bombings in London on Friday were “linked”, police confirmed on Sunday as Britain was put on the highest “critical” security alert amid fears of a new wave of terrorist violence ahead of the second anniversary of the July 7 attacks.

In a day of fast-moving developments, police claimed a breakthrough in the London “bombs” case after two persons — a 26-year-old man and a woman aged 27 — were arrested. These were the first arrests since two Mercedes cars, packed with explosives, were found in the heart of central London early on Friday sending a chill through the city. One more person was arrested in connection with the Glasgow airport incident.

The two “Asian-looking” occupants of the blazing jeep, which rammed into the Glasgow international airport terminal on Saturday, remained in police custody. One of them was wearing what police suspected to be a “suicide belt.”

He suffered serious burns and was reported to be in a “critical” condition in hospital.

The Glasgow airport reopened on Sunday amid heightened security resulting in long delays. Security at all British airports, including Heathrow, was stepped up with severe curbs on the entry of private vehicles. It was not clear whether the London and Glasgow “plots” were the work of individual terrorists operating independently or whether an organised Al-Qaeda “cell” was behind them. However, Willie Rae, chief constable of Strathclyde police investigating the airport attack, said it was linked to the events in London.

“There are similarities between this incident and those in London. We are treating this as a terrorist incident,” he said as a number of houses in areas around the airport were searched.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page