London Attacks: A Look at the Links Between 7/7 and 7/21

August 2, 2005 --

Italy "Will Extradite Suspect"
The Government said today that man arrested in Rome over the failed bomb attack on Shepherd's Bush Tube station does not face any charges in Italy and should be extradited as soon as possible under a new European arrest warrant. (The Times)

British Police Arrest Two More In Failed London Bomb Attacks
Police investigating failed bomb attacks in London said Monday they had arrested two men during raids in south London. (Washington Post)

Zambia Says CIA Wants Access to Suspected Militant
Investigators from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency have arrived in Zambia and want to interrogate suspected British militant Haroon Rashid Aswad, a senior police official said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Inside The Mind of the Shoebomber
Unrepentant, and convinced that Muslims across the world are the victims of American oppression, the mind of Richard Reid, the attempted shoe bomber from South London, was shown today in a letter published in a Scottish legal magazine. (The Times)

British investigators are still trying to determine whether there were any links between the deadly July 7th attacks and the failed July 21st bombings in London. Possible connections between the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks of July 7th and the July 21st bombing suspects arrested in the past few days involve a white water rafting company, a mosque and trips made to Pakistan. ABC News has also learned that the same type of explosives were used in both attacks.

White Water Rafting
Two of the 7/7 bombers — Shehzad Tanweer and Khan — went on a white water rafting trip in North Wales in June. The Mirror published a picture of the two bombers with four other unidentified men on this trip. A brochure for the same rafting center in North Wales was found in the backpack left by Muktar Ibrahim on the bus on July 21st. Jonathan Gorman, director of rafting and canoeing at the Canolfan Tryweryn National White Water Centre, told Newsweek last week that Omar and Ibrahim's names don't show up on the company's records. The names of the two others suspects had not been revealed at the time.

Trips to Pakistan
Another possible link between the two groups is trips made to Pakistan. Pakistani authorities earlier revealed that Tanweer and Khan came to Pakistan in Nov 2004. Muktar Ibrahim reportedly visited Pakistan in December 2004. It's still unclear if they met there. Tanweer however reportedly met with a member of Jaish Mohammed called Osama Nazir. Nazir was arrested in November 2004 for his alleged role in the 2002 church bombing. Tanweer is also believed to have met with Zeeshan Siddiqui, who was arrested in Peshawar April 2005.

The Finsbury Park Mosque
Two of the 7/7 bombers, Lindsay Jermaine and the ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan, reportedly visited the Finsbury Park mosque, formerly known for preaching radicalism through its notorious Abu Hamza al Masri who is now on trial in Britain. Two of the 7/21 suspects, Muktar Said Ibrahim and Yasin Hassan Omar, are also believed to have worshipped at the mosque.

Egypt Police Kill Suspect in Bombings
The Egyptian police on Monday tracked a man who they said was a major suspect in the Sharm el Sheik bombings to a mountain hide-out and killed him in a shootout in which his wife was fatally wounded, the authorities said. (AP)

Wife of Egypt Bomb Suspect Killed
The Egyptian authorities say the wife of one of the men suspected of being behind the bombings in the resort of Sharm al Sheikh has died. (BBC)

Prominent Iranian Judge Shot Dead

The judge in the trial of Iran's best-known political prisoner, journalist Akbar Ganji, has been shot dead, a judiciary spokesman has said. (BBC)

Bomb Blast Near BA Office In Iran
A small bomb has exploded at a building which houses the offices of British Airways and the BP oil firm in the Iranian capital, Tehran. (BBC)

Military Denies Rigging Guantanamo Tribunals

The Pentagon acknowledged yesterday that two former members of the military team handling prosecutions of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had alleged last year that the trial system was rigged in favor of the government. (Washington Post)

Two Blasts Hit Southern Turkish Resort City-Reports Two explosions occurred on Tuesday in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, a popular tourist resort, wounding six people, the private news channel CNN Turk reported. (Reuters)

'Turkey Faced with Double Standard on Terrorism'
The leader of the Greater Unity Party (BBP) Muhsin Yazicioglu said America and European countries apply double standards against Turkey on terrorism. (Zaman)

After Bombings, Few Signs of Similar Attacks in U.S.
Scouring leads from Queens to Oregon, federal investigators have found little hard evidence to suggest that anyone in the United States was involved in the recent spate of terrorist attacks overseas or that any follow-on attacks against American targets are being planned, officials said. (NY Times)

Secret Memo — Send to Be Tortured
The memo appears to be the first that directly questions the legal premises of the Bush administration policy of "extraordinary rendition" — a secret program under which terror suspects are transferred to foreign countries that have been widely criticized for practicing torture. (Newsweek)

France Prepares to Expel Radical Islamist Leaders
France has expelled two radical Islamist leaders in the wake of the London bombings and plans to round up and send home up to two dozen more by the end of the month, the interior ministry said yesterday. (The Guardian)

New Iraq Attacks Leave Many Dead
At least 15 people were killed in a spate of insurgent attacks across Iraq a day after the U.S. military lost six marines in the west of the country. (BBC)

Six U.S. Marines Killed in Action in Iraq
Six American Marines were killed in action in western Iraq, the U.S. command said Tuesday. (AP)

Bodies Found Near Baghdad School
At least 19 bodies have been discovered near a school in south-western Baghdad. (BBC)

Special Briefing: How Radical Islamists See the World
Recent incidents have heightened global concern about the spread of radical Islamist militancy. And they raise questions about the current reach of al Qaeda and groups with similar ideology. (CS Monitor)

A Welcome Fatwa
The fatwa is headed for rehabilitation, this time used in a vigorous backlash against the brand of terrorism that has struck Britain, Spain, Morocco, Egypt and, over and over again, the civilians of Iraq. (LA Times)

Muslims in Europe: Cultural Integration Is a Two-Way Street
I think most Muslims in Europe have heard the call to attend to the pestilence of violent hatred which has spread among some of their own around the world. (Arab News)

How Can We Fix The World If We Can't Read A Map?
Without a good grasp of geography, terrorism may be tougher to fight. (CS Monitor)

A Death in Sudan
To salvage the situation in Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement needs to choose a worthy successor to John Garang. (NY Times)