Suicide bomber who attacked troops in Iraq 'traced to Manchester'
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A suicide bomber living in the UK travelled to Iraq and launched an attack on Allied troops, according to police.
A suicide bomber living in the UK travelled to Iraq and launched an attack on Allied troops, according to police.
The man, aged 41, is the first British-based suicide bomber to be confirmed as an operative in Iraq. He lived in the Moss Side district of Manchester before leaving for the Gulf, where he died in February in one of the many suicide bombings during the Iraqi elections. He was a French national and of North African origin.
Since there were so many attacks during the election, it is unclear which suicide bombing he was involved in. It is also unclear what material and identification he left in Iraq that enabled the authorities to find out that he was living in Manchester. One possibility is that he was carrying his address with him.
The red-brick terraced house where the bomber lived was raided yesterday by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers. They arrested a 40-year-old French national who used to live with him. The man was held under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of being linked to suicide attacks on forces in Iraq.
Intelligence about the suicide bomber is said to have come from the American forces in Baghdad. GMP's newly-formed anti-terrorist unit is trying to establish what route the bomber took, how long he was living in Britain and what links he had with other extremists - either in the UK or abroad.
A counter-terrorist source said: "The police are doing the audit trail - they are going back to try and discover what went on in his life."
Forensic experts began a search of the house, in the middle of a terrace at about 11am yesterday. An hour later, they removed a computer wrapped in bin bags.
The suicide bomber and the arrested man are not believed to be related and were described by a police source as "associates" who lived in the same house. Another source said the bomber was not believed to have been a high-profile terrorist.
There is no evidence of a link to arrests in Spain and Germany last week over the sending of suicide bombers to Iraq. A number of British-based terrorists are suspected of being at work in Iraq. In 2003, it emerged that a Yemeni-born martial arts expert from Sheffield, Wail al-Dhaleai, was suspected of taking part in a suicide attack against US forces - possibly after reaching the country via Syria.
A British Muslim, Mobeen Muneef, 25, from Tooting, south London, is facing trial in Iraq after claims that he helped rebel insurgents fighting US-led forces in the country. He has been held in US custody for nearly three months after being captured with traces of explosives on his hands in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.
After yesterday's 5am raid on the house, owned by the Family Housing Association, GMP's Assistant Chief Constable, Dave Whatton, said that officers were looking for documents relating to the suicide bomber's "journey to Iraq or links to anyone else".
He stressed the raid was not in relation to any threat in the UK but to "an incident overseas" involving suicide bomb attacks in Iraq. After the raid, police officers distributed leaflets to people in surrounding houses and streets. They read: "There is nothing to indicate that at any time there has been any threat to the community of Greater Manchester."
Neighbours reacted with shock to the police raid at the house, just 50 yards from the Al-Furqan Islamic Centre. Andrew Holmes, 43, said yesterday: "I knew of the [arrested] man but didn't really speak to him. He kept himself to himself. I certainly didn't know him well. I think he had lived there for about two years but I'm not sure."