London Bomber Profiles at politburo diktat 2.0

London Bomber Profiles

Profiles of Men Suspected in London Bombings

The four bombers are dead or believed dead; the fifth suspect, Magdy Asi el-Nashar, remains at large. All are Muslims, three were Britons of Pakistani parents. At least two more men may be involved.

London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair said that police believe “that we know who the four people carrying the bombs were … and we believe they are all dead. We are as certain as we can be that four people were killed and they were the four people carrying bombs. We don’t know if there is a fifth man, or a sixth man, a seventh man, or an eighth man.”

Shahzad Tanweer, 22

Died in a suicide bomb attack on a subway train near Aldgate station, police say. Tanweer attended Leeds Metropolitan University, where he studied sports science and developed a special interest in cricket. He had a younger brother and two sisters and always lived in the Beeston area of the city of Leeds in northern England. His father was born in Pakistan and owns a fish-and-chips shop. Tanweer went to Lahore, Pakistan, for two months this year to study Islam, said his uncle, Bashir Ahmed. Media reports said he was arrested once for shoplifting.

london bomber hussain hasib
Hasib Hussain, 18

Killed himself when he blew up a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, police say. Hussain lived with his family in the Leeds suburb of Holbeck his entire life, according to neighbors. From September 1998 until July 2003, he attended Matthew Murray High School, completing vocational business studies. He reportedly became a more devout Muslim two years ago, according to police, who questioned neighbors. Media reports said police once questioned Hussain for disorderly behavior. On Thursday, police released an image of Hussain wearing a backpack, taken by a CCTV camera as he passed through Luton train station north of London headed to the capital.

Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30

Born in Britain of Pakistani parents, according to The Times of London. Married and the father of an 8?-month-old girl, he has been identified as a suspect by British media. Police have not publicly named him as a suspect. Khan originally lived in the same area of Leeds as Tanweer, but moved five months ago to Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. He worked with disabled children and his wife, Hasina, was involved in education, neighbors said. He was also a Muslim, although one neighbor, Imran Zaman, said he had never seen Khan at the local mosque. Documents belonging to Khan were found in the debris of the Edgware Road subway blast, media reports said. Police have said that property in the name of a third man who traveled to London from West Yorkshire — reportedly Khan — was found at both the Aldgate and Edgware Road sites, but there was no evidence proving he died at either blast.

MI5 was yesterday piecing together the double life of Mohammed Sadique Khan, the oldest of the bombers, who worked in a school in Beeston, Leeds. Khan, the father of 14?-month-old Maryam, was a “learning mentor” for children of immigrant families who had just arrived in Britain. Staff described him as gently spoken, endlessly patient and immensely popular with children. He was photographed at work at the Hillside primary school three years ago for a feature article in The Times education supplement.

Lindsey Germaine

Jamaican-born Briton, has been identified by BBC TV and Sky News as the fourth bomber. Police haven’t named the fourth suspect, but said the attacker likely died in the explosion between King’s Cross and Russell Square stations.

Magdy Asi el-Nashar, 33

Egyptian-born academic who recently did biochemical research at Leeds University, is being sought by police, The Times has reported, adding that he is believed to have rented one of the homes searched by police in Leeds. Neighbors said el-Nashar recently left Britain, claiming he had a problem with his visa. Leeds University said el-Nashar moved to Leeds in October 2000 to do biochemical research sponsored by the National Research Center in Cairo. He earned a doctorate May 6 but hasn’t been seen on campus since early July. El-Nashar studied chemical engineering at North Carolina State University for a semester beginning in January 2000. He is understood to have rented one of the houses raided by police, where explosives were found in a bathtub.

Of course, Dr. Shackleford is all over this story, with a lot on el-Nashar’s NCSU connection.

News.com.au reports that the police have identified the “bomb mastermind.” (The following article seems very disjointed; I’m trying to figure it out.)

Police believe they have identified the man who planned the London bombings. The leader of the terrorist cell is believed to be in his 30s and of Pakistani origin. He arrived at a British port last month and is understood to have left the country the day before four suicide bombers murdered at least 53 people. Security sources believe he has been involved in previous terrorist operations and has links with al-Qa’ida followers in the US. It is believed he visited the bombers in Leeds and identified targets. Security chiefs say he is also likely to have schooled his recruits on how to trigger their rucksack bombs almost simultaneously.

Detectives were yesterday trying to track down two other possible members of the cell. The first was seen on closed-circuit TV cameras on the platform of Luton station as the bombers set off on July 7. There are fears the man, also believed to be of Pakistani origin, could be a fifth bomber, still at large. Police are trying to discover if he was in Luton, where explosives were found in the boot of a hire car. Fingerprint and DNA experts are still examining the Nissan Micra.

A further aspect of the jigsaw is the suggestion that there could be a connection between the attacks and a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv in April, 2003. According to Israeli authorities, the two young radical British Muslims who were responsible for the suicide attack on a club in Tel Aviv, killing three people and injuring 50, used a new type of plastic explosive, originally manufactured by one of China’s leading military defence contractors. Mossad, the Israeli secret service, reportedly discovered the British suicide bombers, Asif Muhammad Hanif, 21, from Hounslow, west London, and Omar Khan Sharif, 27, from Derby, smuggled the explosive into Israel from Jordan. The same type of explosive is thought to have been used in the London attacks.