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  Terror Manhunt in the UK: British Police Arrest Two More Suspects

Terror Manhunt in the UK British Police Arrest Two More Suspects

By Matthias Gebauer in Glasgow

Part 2: 'Everyone Lives their Own Life'

In fact, investigators were quick to find the first trace of the people who wanted to bring chaos to Britain once again. The experts found evidence in both of the cars in London that had been packed with gasoline and propane bottles. This quickly put them on the trail of the attackers, leading to Scotland, and Glasgow.

But by the time the authorities had contacted the owners of a terraced house in Glasgow's Neuk Crescent neighborhood, a few kilometres from the airport, it was already too late. The two Asian men who had lived there for a few weeks had disappeared. The evidence indicates that it was these men who a short time later rammed a burning Jeep into the airport.

Hardly any of their neighbors in Neuk Crescent had taken much notice of the two men. According to the residents, they were in their early 30s. "They didn’t introduce themselves," said one woman before the police finally allowed her back into her home after several hours on Sunday afternoon. They looked completely normal, and didn’t have beards or wear traditional Islamic clothes. No one here had seen the green jeep before.

"Why would we be interested in them?" asks the woman. "Everyone lives their own life." The investigators have put up a barrier and have erected a blue tent in the garden, right next to the garage, where they are searching for evidence.

The first details that have been given so far haven't shed much light on the background to the plot. The generally well-informed Sky News sounded almost relieved that the first five suspects to be arrested weren't British. All are foreigners, and according to media reports, two are doctors, one of whom was arrested with his wife on Saturday driving north out of London on the M6 motorway. The other was in the blazing car in Glasgow. He is reported to have worked in a clinic in the Scottish city and suffered severe burns during the attack. His condition is described as "critical."

According to the Sun newspaper the doctor who was stopped on the motorway is a 26-year-old Iranian, although other media reports identify him as Jordanian or Lebanese. The investigators were on his scent shortly after the discovery of the two Mercedes sedans in London. Apparently data in the mobile phone found at the scene helped the authorities. The police immediately began to follow the man and his wife in their car. Police cars encircled them and as soon as they were sure that there were no civilians nearby they forced him to brake. According to police sources, there were fears that the car could also contain gasoline and propane.

A Doctor as Attacker?

The man and woman are now being questioned by the police. Meanwhile, journalists are currently laying siege to a clinic in Staffordshire, where a doctor by the name of Mohammed Basha is supposed to have worked. The hospital has so far refused to comment but aparently the police had already searched the doctor's apartment a few kilometres away on Sunday.

The name Mohammed Basha appears on a list of registered doctors in Britain, which also states that he passed his exams in Jordan in 2004. But it's still not clear whether this is the same doctor who is currently being questioned by investigators. As with all the other details, the police have not commented.

On Sunday, a representative of the Scottish government rushed to Glasgow Airport. He hektically assured journalists that the suspects did not come from Scotland and had only been living near the airport for a short while. Scotland was already "back to business" as usual, he said.

However the actual situation seems somewhat different. While a statement is expected in parliament on Monday, it is still not clear how long Great Britain will be kept at its current terror alert level. Too many questions remain unanswered. And until further notice, an entire country is under the constant threat of terror.

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