Author: Press Trust of India
Publication: The Statesman
Date: May 5, 2003
Britain is harbouring an estimated
number of 50 would-be suicide bombers who have roots in Pakistan, India
and Bangladesh, British media reported today, quoting a leading London-
based Islamic radical.
Mr Hassan Butt, a self-styled recruiter
of British volunteers for the Islamic holy war, said he had been approached
by at least 50 men for guidance on how to carry out "martyrdom operations"
in Israel and that 20 of them are "absolutely serious" about what they
have planned to do.
"They are waiting for the right
time, the right people. You don't just do it as individuals, you do it
as an organisation. It's about screening them, testing them, making sure
they are sincere. Then, when it's right, believe me they'll all be used,"
Mr Butt said. The warning came after last week's suicide bombing on a bar
in Tel Aviv which killed three people. The suicide attack, by Asif Mohammed
Hanif, from Hounslow, west London, and Omar Khan Sharif, from Derby, was
the first of its kind by British citizens. Hanif blew himself up but Sharif
fled when his bomb failed to detonate.
Detectives from Scotland Yard's
anti-terrorist branch are questioning six people - three men and three
women, suspected to have links to the blast.
They are being questioned at the
high-security Paddington Green police station in central London, on suspicion
of helping to plan terrorist attacks.
Mr Butt claimed that he knew both
British bombers but declined to elaborate.
