UK arrests include top al Qaeda suspect, reports say

4.00pm

LONDON - Newspapers have reported that 12 terrorism suspects arrested two days earlier included a senior al Qaeda figure planning to attack Heathrow airport.

None of the reports on Thursday quoted a source by name and all differed substantially in details, but most linked the arrests in London with recent arrests in Pakistan and this week's security alert in New York and Washington.

If true, that could help persuade sceptics in the United States who have questioned the justification for this week's alert, which led to some of the most disruptive security measures since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But police declined to confirm the newspaper reports, and said the arrests in London and other cities this week were the result of a long-planned, intelligence-led operation that began before recent arrests in Pakistan.

"The short answer is, the investigation preceded that," said a London police spokesman.

The Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Sun each ran versions of the story, citing unnamed Pakistani officials who said plans to attack Heathrow airport were found on the computer of Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, arrested last month in Lahore.

All four reports also mentioned an alleged senior al Qaeda operative in Britain named Abu Musa al-Hindi or Abu Eisa al-Hindi. Three of the four papers said Hindi was tasked with carrying out the Heathrow attack. Three of the four said he was among the 12 people arrested by British police this week.

Police would not comment on the identities of the 12 men they were holding. A 13th was freed without charge.

US officials have said Khan's computers included scouting reports about financial buildings in the United States that might have been targets, prompting the tough security measures in New York and Washington this week.

US officials have since acknowledged that most of the information on the seized computers was several years old. But they say the timing of the security alert was justified because other intelligence pointed to an increased likelihood of attacks during the US presidential election campaign season.

The British news reports did not give a clear indication as to when the London attack was to have taken place. Some of the reports suggested it referred to a plan more than one year old, but some said the plan was still active.

The 12 British suspects were being held at a high-security London police station after being arrested on Tuesday, mostly in daylight raids, including one high-speed car chase.

The Times said this was an indication that the raids were carried out more urgently than similar sweeps in the past, which are traditionally carried out before dawn when suspects are likely to be home. It said the urgency was brought on by the US clampdown, which British police were not expecting.

"There are some times we have to do things sooner than we would like and this was one of them," the newspaper quoted a police source as saying.

Britain has arrested more than 600 people under terrorism laws since September 11, 2001. But fewer than 100 have been charged with any crime and only 15 have been convicted.

Muslim groups have complained that British police have been overly zealous in anti-terrorism sweeps in the past, often with little evidence that can stand up in court.

- REUTERS