Suspect charged over failed London bombings

LONDON - British police have charged one of four men held over failed attempts to bomb the London transport network with conspiracy to murder.

Yassin Hassan Omar, a 24-year-old Somali national who came to Britain at the age of 11, is the first of the four prime suspects named by police to be charged by British authorities over the botched attacks on July 21.

The attacks came exactly two weeks after similar strikes by suspected suicide bombers killed 52 passengers on three underground trains and a bus.

Police arrested Omar in a dawn raid in the central English city of Birmingham last month, using a stun gun to disable him temporarily with an electric shock.

He faces four charges including conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and accusations linked to possession of explosives, police said. Each of the charges carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

- REUTERS