Terror in a city that was home

They came to Britain seeking sanctuary from famine and war in East Africa, receiving assistance, education and help from the state. Both seemed to want to call Britain home.

But yesterday, Yasin Hassan Omar and Muktar Said Ibrahim - suspected bombers who tried to cause carnage in the country they had made their home - were the subject of a huge police hunt.

Details emerged of their lifestyles, which veered between the fringes of legality and the deeply religious.

But both were also, according to friends, apparently normal men who played football in the park every Sunday and, seemingly, wanted to consider themselves part of Britain.

Omar's application to remain indefinitely was approved by the Home Office. Ibrahim, 27, was granted British citizenship only last September. Omar received thousands of pounds in state benefits.

Ibrahim, also known as Mohammed Said, arrived in Britain from Eritrea in 1992, aged 14, to join his family, who had been in this country for about two years.

He was granted exceptional leave to remain, although the children of some asylum-seekers are returned.

He is believed to have lived with his family in Henselin Close in Stanmore, North London, and attended Canons High School in Edgware, leaving in 1994. The school has a high proportion of refugees among its students.

His family said yesterday that he left home in 1994 and had not visited for "many months". They said they were "shocked" by the naming of their son as a suspected bomber.

One neighbour, Anthony Nolan, 25, said: "[Ibrahim] just seemed so normal. I don't think there is any suicide-bomber look, but nevertheless he just seemed a friendly guy.

"I probably only ever saw him around here twice in the years they've lived here."

He said the community felt protective towards his parents and brother, whom he described as quiet and friendly.

"They have caused no problems to anyone around here before. They are a strong part of the community and people are very supportive of them."

Other neighbours said Ibrahim spoke Arabic and had been to Saudi Arabia in 2003, the same year he applied to become a British citizen.

For some time, he had been living with Omar and two other unidentified men in a ninth-storey, one-bedroom council flat in Curtis House in New Southgate, North London.

Omar, now 24, had been placed in foster care by Enfield council after arriving in Britain in 1993 at the age of 11 from Somalia.

He lived with foster parents until he was 18, before being housed in the borough after being given indefinite leave to remain.

One local shop-owner said Omar had tried to steal food and was "always looking for ways to make money". Another witness said Ibrahim was regularly seen outside Arnos Grove Tube station, four minutes walk from Curtis House, smoking marijuana.

Omar, who was the official tenant, was seriously behind with the rent and may have faced eviction proceedings. He had received 38,000 ($97,000) in housing benefit and income support over the past six years.

In June, he was told his 75-a-week housing benefit had been stopped. His income support payments were also stopped, although it is not clear why.

Ibrahim is believed to have recently moved out and been living in Hackney - although he returned regularly to Southgate. The bus on which he was said to have left a bomb was bound for Hackney, but police and the council were unable to provide details about where he might have lived.

At Curtis House, the men joined others in regular trips to the local park. Vance Noor, 18, who lives nearby, said: "The guys would come out every Sunday. It was always around the same time - 4pm to 7pm.

"They were part of a group of about 11 Somalis who used to come out to play [football]. The two guys ran about loads, especially the tubby one [Ibrahim], who was a mad tackler.

"They didn't have sports clothes - they wore jeans and T-shirts - but they did have football boots. They were friendly but didn't talk much beyond that. They weren't that good at football, though."

There was another side to the men, who began holding prayer meetings in Curtis House.

It is not known whether either man visited local mosques, but some reports linked Ibrahim with mosques in Finsbury Park and Brixton.

Kausor, 23, an Asian man who said the pair had persuaded him to become more devout, said: "They were devout. They prayed five times a day. We talked about Islam and current issues. We talked about the Ummah [Muslim brotherhood] and how it was being attacked."

Ibrahim was also reported to have grown a beard and to have begun wearing traditional dress. He still visited his parents in Stanmore.

Sarah Scott, 23, who had known Ibrahim since he was much younger, said he gave her a pamphlet after she had told him she was an atheist.

He had highlighted a passage that read: "Anyone who says 'there is no God except Allah' and dies holding to that will enter paradise."

She said he had never mentioned jihad or terrorism. "He talked about evil spirits. He said there were a lot of evil spirits around."

Yesterday, the flat at Curtis House remained sealed off, suspected of being a "bomb factory".

And the search continued for the men who apparently wished to bring death and destruction to the city they treated as home.

- INDEPENDENT