Crash suspect is Brit from Sudan

Friend says suspect has no terrorist link

London, Aug. 15: British citizen of Sudanese origin Salih Khater was driving the car that injured three persons in a terror attack outside the UK's Parliament, government sources said on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old, who has studied electrical engineering in Sudan, lived in Birmingham’s Sparkhill district. He describes himself as a shop manager.

He was held on suspicion of terrorism by Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command after the crash on Tuesday.

Khater, a British citizen originally from Sudan, continues to be questioned at a south London police station as searches are undertaken at three addresses in Birmingham and Nottingham as part of the investigation.

It has emerged that he spent 90 minutes trawling the area around the Houses of Parliament before speeding into the barriers, having travelled up from Birmingham, 200 km from here, overnight on Monday.

The suspect, who is yet to be officially named by police, had studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology, according to his Facebook page. Abubakr Ibrahim, a childhood friend of Khater, said: “No, no, no. He is not a terrorist. I have known him since childhood. He is a good man.”

He said that Khater was the son of sorghum farmers. He had moved to Britain about five years ago, having studied electrical engineering in Khartoum.

Ibrahim said: “His family are very simple and they let him travel to London to help them.”

The suspect's Sparkbrook rental property in Birmingham is a 10-minute drive from the former home of Khalid Masood, the terrorist shot dead by armed officers during the last attack on Parliament in March last year.

He is not believed to have been known to MI5 or counter-terrorism police and did not co-operate with officers after his arrest. Khater drove the car at high speed and ploughed into several pedestrians and cyclists before crashing into security barriers outside Parliament during rush hour, injuring three persons.

It was the second terrorism incident on the iconic building in central London since March last year.

THE SUSPECT’S rental property in Birmingham is a 10minute drive from the former home of Khalid Masood, the terrorist shot dead by armed officers during the last attack on Parliament in March last year.