Tightened Security May Cause Additional Delays For Holiday
Travelers
British law enforcement
personnel arrested three more suspects Monday in the attempted car
bomb attacks in London and Glasgow Airport, bringing the total
arrested to eight.
One of the three was reportedly seized in another country and
the other two, who are medical doctors, were arrested at a
residential facility attached to the Princess Alexandra Hospital
near Glasgow, according to the New York Times.
As ANN reported, a
burning sport-utility vehicle crashed at full speed into the
terminal building at Glasgow airport in Scotland Saturday, one day
after a pair of unexploded car bombs were discovered in London. The
events come nearly two years after the July 7, 2005, suicide
bombings that killed 52 commuters on the city's transit system.
Investigators used cell phone records and sophisticated highway
closed-circuit television records to trace the green Jeep Cherokee
that was used in the Glasgow Airport attack.
Some media reports, such as in the Pakistan Daily Times, say the
attacks are from Al Qaeda cels in Britain. Other, such as the New
York Times, say investigating intelligence agencies have discovered
no direct link to Al Qaeda.
A source referred to as a 'senior Western law enforcement
official' by the Times who wished to remain anonymous, said there
was "no indication of any outside direction" and "no connection
with the United States whatsoever."
"Nothing from phone contacts, nor any other way," the official
said. "There has never been any connection of any kind in the
U.S."
In the United States, people traveling for the Fourth of July
holiday will be facing even tighter security measures as they
venture out this week as a result of the most recent attack. The
Transportation Security Administration said an increased presence
in police and bomb-sniffing dogs at airports should be expected as
well as more random vehicle checks.
Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff told CNN the threat
level for U.S. aviation has been at orange since last August.
"And that is basically the highest level, other than what
happens when you have an actual attack. We have also taken some
measures, people will see, some they will not see, in increased
personnel, some of them obvious, some of them plain clothes,
pushing out the security perimeter, not only with respect to
airports, but also mass transit and transitions as well," said
Chertoff.
The two medical doctors that were arrested have been identified
as Mohammed Asha, from Jordan, and Bilal Abdullah from Iraq.
Asha, 26, a Jordanian of
Palestinian descent, was arrested Saturday night on the M6 highway
in northwestern England when stopped by law enforcement officers.
There was a woman, thought to be his wife, in the car with him and
it is unclear what, if any, role she played in the attack.
Abdullah was originally suspected of being in the Jeep Cherokee
that rammed Glasgow Airport. According to British medical records,
he has been licensed to practice medicine in Britain under
supervision since August 2006 and was trained in Baghdad.
According to the Associated Press, the third suspected arrested
Monday was reportedly detained by Australian authorities at an
airport in Brisbane while trying to exit the country.
Queensland State Premier Peter Beattie told the AP the suspect
was a 27-year-old male but refused to release his identity.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.16.24)
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