“Nightmarish”
Following
the Wednesday attack, the first in which British citizens are involved
against Israeli targets, British security agencies are facing a
nightmarish new threat as sources close to British Interior ministry,
MI5 and Special Branch, admit that the pair of attackers were unknown
to both agencies. Nor do they know how many other disaffected British
Muslims might be prepared to carry out attacks in the Jewish state.
The
fear is that if the two attackers had chosen a target in Britain, they
would have gone undetected, the Independent said.
A
man was arrested in London on Saturday, May 3, joining two men and two
women arrested late Friday, May 2, in the central county of Derbyshire
and one woman arrested in the nearby county of Nottinghamshire.
Newspapers
here said those detained were relatives of the two bombing suspects,
although police refused to confirm this.
All
six were arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which
relates to those suspected of being involved in the commission,
preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Furthermore,
British security chiefs knew that the two Britons were connected to
Islamic “extremists”, but decided they were not potential
terrorists, the London newspaper Daily Telegraph said.
MI5
officers investigating terrorism activities did not place the two
British suspects under constant surveillance because it was believed
they were only on the fringes of al-Muhajiroun, a radical organisation
based in Britain which had hailed Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network
as a hero.
Security
services knew for several years that Omar Khan Sharif, the escaped
would-be self-bomber, was attending al-Muhajiroun meetings in his home
town of Derby, central England, as well as group meetings in west
London, MI5 officers told the Telegraph.
They
said Sharif was also connected to the Finsbury Park mosque in north
London -- the target in January 2003 of a major police raid that
followed the discovery of traces of ricin, a deadly toxin, in a flat
elsewhere in the capital.
‘Leaflets’
In
another related development, leaflets published in Britain urging
Muslims to become self-bombers have been found in long-occupied
Palestinian territories. The discovery fuels fears that Britain has
become a haven for extremists.
Now
Israeli authorities have demanded that Britain launch an immediate
investigation into al-Sunnah, the organization based at Birmingham's
Centre for Islamic Studies, which published the leaflets, The
Observer said.
One
leaflet published just before the outbreak of war against Iraq on
March 20 urges Muslims to become martyrs in Afghanistan, Iraq and
Palestine. Supporters are asked to send donations to a bank account at
one of its branches in Birmingham.
The
al-Sunnah group is known for its hard-core stance over the occupation
of Palestine and the involvement of Western governments in the support
of Israel. However, the organization has had a generally low profile
in Britain - until now, added the British daily.
Al-Sunnah
publishes books, leaflets and a monthly magazine that is distributed
across the Muslim world including the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza
strip.
“When
this sudden explosion of American-Zionist violence is aiming to
eradicate a nation's existence, eliminating its vitality and sites of
resistance, the only way to protect this nation is through acts of
martyrdom,” read one leaflet.
The
Centre for Islamic Studies refused to comment.
Peace
activists from the International Solidarity Movement came under
renewed pressure to leave the occupied territories on Saturday after
allegations that the British bombers had attended an ISM memorial on
Friday, April 25, in honor of Rachel Corrie, an activist killed by
Israeli forces. ISM last night said activists Hanif and Sharif
appeared to be 'typical Brits'.
