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3 London bombing suspects appear in court
Three of the four main suspects in the failed July 21 London bombings appeared at a high-security court Monday charged with attempting to murder passengers on London's transport system, the Associated Press reported.
Ibrahim Muktar Said, 27, Ramzi Mohammed, 23, and Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, were ordered to remain in custody until Nov. 14 on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, possessing or making explosives and conspiracy to use explosives. They face life in prison if convicted. Said was accused of trying to detonate a bomb on a bus in east London. Mohammed is suspected of attempting to bomb the Oval station subway train, while Omar allegedly targeted an underground train near Warren Street station. The men spoke only to confirm their names. The fourth main suspected attacker, known both as Osman Hussain and as Hamdi Issac, was arrested in Rome and is being held there on international terrorism charges. British authorities are seeking his extradition. Armed officers stood guard near the entrance to the court in southeast London near Belmarsh high-security prison. A helicopter hovered overhead. The court appearances were the first in Britain by those suspected of direct involvement in the failed July 21 attacks, which didn't kill anyone but set the London capital on edge exactly two weeks after the July 7 attack. The July 7 bombings killed 56 people including the four suicide bombers. No one has been charged in connection with the July 7 attacks, but police have said they believe they have all the July 21 attackers in custody after a series of dramatic arrests last month. Another man, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, also appeared in court charged with conspiracy to murder over a bomb in a backpack found July 23 near a London park. He was also ordered to remain in custody until Nov. 14. The backpack containing the bomb was found near Little Wormwood Scrubs park in northwest London. Meanwhile, the Bow Street Magistrates Court was also due to consider the case of Haroon Rashid Aswat, a British citizen of Indian descent, who had been deported to Britain Sunday after Zambian authorities held him in connection with the London bombings. British police arrested Aswat, 30, on a U.S. extradition warrant accusing him of conspiring to set up a training camp in Bly, Ore., between October 1999 and April 2000 with the aim of preparing and equipping individuals to "fight jihad in Afghanistan," police said in a statement. Aswat had been detained in Lusaka, Zambia, since July 20, where he was questioned about 20 phone calls reportedly made on his South African cell phone to some of the bombers responsible for the July 7 attacks. The United States has 60 days under U.S. law to secure an indictment against Aswat now that he has been arrested on a provisional warrant. Three other men were also due in court Monday in connection with the bombing case. Police have charged Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali, 30, Wharbi Mohammed, 22, and Asias Girma, 20, with assisting people in evading arrest. Six people appeared in court last week charged with failing to disclose information about the whereabouts of Hamdi Issac and were ordered to remain in custody until further hearings. They included Issac's wife and sister-in-law. Meanwhile, Attorney General Lord Goldmsith's office said the Crown Prosecution Service's head of anti-terrorism would meet with senior Metropolitan Police officers to discuss possible charges against three prominent clerics as part of a crackdown on those the government believes are inciting terrorism. Clerics Omar Bakri Mohammed, Abu Izzaden and Abu Uzair, have appeared on British television in recent days and a spokeswoman for Lord Goldmsith's office said prosecutors and police would look at remarks made by the three and consider whether they could face charges of treason, incitement to treason, solicitation of murder, or incitement to withhold information known to be of use to police. Mohammed has reportedly said since the July 7 attacks that he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning another attack and he supports insurgents who attack troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "No decision on charges has been made yet," the attorney general's office spokeswoman said, speaking anonymously because British civil servants cannot be named. The spokeswoman said prosecutors may also seek access to taped recordings made by an undercover Sunday Times reporter who reportedly recorded members of a radical group praising the suicide bombers as "The Fantastic Four." The newspaper's story said its reporter spent two months as a "recruit" of the group, the Savior Sect, and described the organization as inciting young British Muslims to become terrorists.
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