Police swoop on 3 asylum seekers over Tube bomb
Refugees held after raid on a halfway house in South Wales
‘Six officers jumped this guy’
THIS is the dramatic moment a ‘smiling’ terrorism suspect was arrested as police continue to hunt for accomplices in the Parsons Green Tube bombing.
The man, named as asylum seeker Bilal Mohammed, 25, was pinned down by armed officers in the middle of the street in Newport, South Wales – more than 130 miles from the scene of Friday’s attack in London.
Two other suspects, aged 30 and 48, were arrested a few hours later just two miles away in a raid on a ‘halfway house’ for asylum seekers.
The raids in South Wales brought the number of people arrested over the attack to five, and came as investigators were said to be exploring the online links of the Iraqi 18-year-old suspected bomber who lived with his foster parents in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.
Dozens of people were injured when the bomb partially exploded during Friday morning rush-hour.
Mohammed was held at 7.15pm on Tuesday after leaving a halal meat shop. One witness said: ‘A big van pulled up and six officers got out and jumped this guy. There were two armed officers. The guy was smiling. I didn’t hear him saying anything.’
Ten hours later, at 5am yesterday, police arrested the two older men at a property in Newport that was being used by the Home Office as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
Police are still questioning the 18year-old, who was arrested at the
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Yesterday, the husband of the owner of the raided house in Newport, said: ‘It’s a Government-run property. We wouldn’t know who was in or out of there. The property is owned by us but the local governmentasylum seekers take in control,there.’ they put Locals said Mohammed is a Kurdish student and part-time painter and decorator from Iraq, the same country as the teenage refugee suspected of planting the Parsons Green bomb. Bilal Rehman, an elder at the mosque where Mohammed is said to have worshipped until around six months ago, claimed last night that he may have already been on the police radar. He said: ‘He came to the UK when he was 15 or 16 for a safe haven.
‘He was a gentle, quiet man who was studying construction or something to do with the building trade at college in Cardiff. But I think he may have already been known to the police. Officers went to his house about a year ago – they found books, I think.’
One local Muslim resident claimed the suspect had recently started receiving visitors in expensive cars from London. He said: ‘ He was always very humble, happy to be in the UK. But recently he started to receive visitors from people driving Mercedes and Jeeps, expensive cars with registration plates from London dealerships. It was very odd.’
Another friend of the refugee said he was a ‘serious’ young man who spent his days praying and was ‘proud of being a Kurd’.
Neighbour Abid Ali said Mohammed refused to discuss his views on the Islamic State group and terrorism when asked about it. Mr Ali said: ‘I just wanted to know what he thought about what was going on in the world, but he said, “Just leave it.”
‘That was about a month ago – I am very shocked by his arrest and didn’t sleep last night. I had told him that life is too short and he should enjoy himself. But when he’s not working he goes to pray at one of the local mosques. He has no girlfriend, I asked him why and he said, “No chance.” ’
Residents said Mohammed would go door-to-door looking for work. One woman, who did not want to be named, said: ‘ He did some painting on our house about two years ago. He was a nice guy.
‘He used to condemn terrorism – my husband would condemn it and he would agree with him.’
Additional reporting by Emine Sinmaz and Tom Kelly