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Two suspects in the failed car bombs in London and Glasgow, one detained in Australia the other in Britain, sought to work at an American hospital, the FBI said yesterday.
The FBI confirmed a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer that Mohammed Haneef, the Indian doctor detained in Brisbane this week, and Jordanian neurologist Mohammed Jamil Asha had contacted a Philadelphia-based organisation that certifies foreign-trained doctors to work in the United States. However, neither doctor had ever visited the US.
After the attempted attacks in Britain, FBI agents visited the Philadelphia office of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, the national clearing house for foreign-trained doctors seeking graduate work. Agents found records related to applications by Haneef and Asha, officials said.
The commission verifies foreign doctors' credentials and administers required exams, but it does not issue visas.
Asha, who graduated from medical school in Jordan in 2004, applied to take the US graduate tests last year, FBI spokeswoman Nancy O'Dowd said. Sources said Haneef also applied last year.
Apparently, neither doctor took the entrance tests, officials said.
