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| Britain |
| Teaching assistant led London bombings |
| 2005-07-19 |
| Suicide bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan, the 30-year-old teaching assistant from Leeds, has emerged as the commander of the London terror attacks, with links to suspected al-Qaeda operatives across three continents. As Khan's family came forward yesterday to make a public statement expressing their astonishment for his part in the 'horrific and evil' act that killed at least 55 people, security sources confirmed he was linked to a previous foiled terrorist plot in Britain. US reports also suggest that he had links to a second plot linked to an al-Qaeda cell in Pakistan. Khan is also believed to have been in telephone contact with a suspected al-Qaeda recruiter in New York. The development came as the police investigation in Yorkshire focused on an Islamic bookshop at the heart of the Leeds neighbourhood where three of the London bombers came from. On Friday officers used a battering ram to smash open the doors of the Iqra Learning Centre in Bude Road, around the corner from the home of Shehzad Tanweer, who killed seven people in the Aldgate blast. It emerged that the man still being questioned by police in London, Naveed Fiaz, had links to the shop. The Observer can also reveal that one of the four London suicide bombers had telephone contact with one of the terrorist suspects controversially detained in Belmarsh prison without trial. The Belmarsh detainees were released last year after the Law Lords ruled that their imprisonment was illegal. Yesterday the family of Khan expressed their sympathy to the victims, their friends and family saying they were 'devastated'. They urged anyone with any information to contact detectives in order to 'expose these terror networks who target and groom our sons to carry out such evils'. A statement issued through the police said: 'The Khan family would like to sincerely express their deepest and heartfelt sympathies to all the innocent victims and their families and friends affected by this horrific and evil act. 'We are devastated that our son may have been brainwashed into carrying out such an atrocity, since we know him as a kind and caring member of our family.' Last night, the wife of Germaine Lindsay spoke of her devastation at learning of her husband's secret life. Samantha Lewthwaite, 22, said: 'I never predicted or imagined that he was involved in such horrific activities. He was a loving husband and father. 'My whole world has fallen apart, and my thoughts are with the families of the victims of this incomprehensible devastation.' Lindsay's half-sister said he had been a 'great brother, just like any sister would want a brother to be'. But Dana Reid told Channel 4 News that he had changed when he started to attend local mosques. The pair drifted apart and Reid only heard about his death on the news. But she added, that despite his change, she could not believe he would have carried out the atrocities. 'I want proof,' she said. 'He did change but he never changed in his love for people.' |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |