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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Three more Muslims charged with aiding July 7th bombers police plead with community to tell what they know

Three more Muslims charged with aiding July 7th bombers police plead with community to tell what they know

April 5, 2007

Three charged over July 7th bombings Times Online

Three men have been charged in connection with the suicide attacks on London's transport system on July 7, 2005, Scotland Yard said today.

The first criminal charges relating to the bombings, which killed 52 people and injured more than 900, showed that the investigation into the atrocity has entered a new stage, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorist command.

Mr Clarke said that detectives have taken 15,000 statements and followed 19,000 leads since launching Britain's largest murder inquiry 21 months ago and that more arrests — of those alleged to have helped the four bombers carry out their plan — would follow.

"Detail of the evidence must wait," he said. "But it is probably fair to describe it as a complicated jigsaw with thousands of pieces. We now have enough of the pieces in the right place for us to be able to see the picture, but it is far from complete."

"Because of that, the search is not over. I firmly believe that there are other people who have knowledge of what lay behind the attacks in July 2005 — knowledge that they have not shared with us. In fact, I don't only believe it. I know it for a fact. For that reason the investigation continues."

Mohammed Shakil, 30, of Beeston, a suburb of Leeds; Sadeer Saleem, 26, also of Beeston; and Waheed Ali, 23, who recently lived in London but was originally from Beeston, were arrested on March 22.

Mr Saleem was arrested in Leeds and the other two men were detained at Manchester airport as they were preparing to board a flight to Pakistan.

The three were charged today under the Explosive Substances Act (1883) for "unlawfully and maliciously" plotting with the suicide bombers "to cause explosions on the Transport for London system and / or tourist attractions in London".

"The allegation is that they were involved in reconnaissance and planning for a plot with those ultimately responsible for the bombings on July 7 before the plan was finalised," said Sue Hemming, head of the Counter Terrorism Commission of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Until the three men were arrested a fortnight ago, no one had been detained by Scotland Yard in connection with the worst terrorist attack in Britain's history. Mr Clarke acknowledged that, for some, today's charges "will bring back horrible memories of that terrible day".

"For others there may be some relief that after such a length of time there is some visible progress in an investigation that has had to be kept secret," he said.

Mr Clarke ended his statement this morning with an appeal for more information, above all from people in West Yorkshire, about the movements and plans of those who detonated the bombs — Mohammed Siddique Khan, Shezhad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussein — and those charged today.

"I do understand that some of you will have real concerns about the consequences of telling us what you know," he said. "I also know that some of you have been actively dissuaded from speaking to us. Surely this must stop."

"We need to know more about their movements, meetings and travel. Who did they meet? Where did they go? But as well as this, who else knew about what was happening? We will find out, it is only a matter of time."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1618730.ece

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6529643.stm

Three charged over 7/7 bombings
Bombed bus The 7 July bombers attacked a London bus and three Tube trains
Three men have been charged in connection with the 7 July suicide bombings in London.

Mohammed Shakil, 30, Waheed Ali, 23, and Sadeer Saleem, 26, were charged with conspiracy to cause explosions on transport or at tourist attractions.

Scotland Yard said the hunt for those involved in the bombings was not over and more arrests were expected.

Four suicide attacks killed 52 people on three London Underground trains and a bus in 2005.

Arrests

Mr Shakil, from Beeston, West Yorkshire, and Mr Ali, from Tower Hamlets, east London, who was previously known as Shipon Ullah, were boarding a flight to Pakistan at Manchester Airport when they were detained in March.

Mr Saleem, also from Beeston, was arrested at an address in Leeds.

The three are accused of conspiring with the 7 July bombers between the 1 November 2004 and the 29 June 2005 to cause explosions on the London transport system or at tourist attractions in the city.

"The allegation is that they were involved in reconnaissance and planning for a plot with those ultimately responsible for the bombings on the 7 July before the plan was finalised," said Sue Hemming, head of the Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service.

I firmly believe that there are other people who have knowledge of what lay behind the attack in July 2005
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke

Bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19, and Hasib Hussain, 18, all died in the blasts, and the latest charges are the first to be made over the attacks.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command, said police had taken 15,000 statements and followed 19,000 leads during its 21-month investigation into the "murder of 52 innocent victims".

"I appreciate that bringing these charges will have an impact on many people," he said. "For some it will bring back horrible memories of that terrible day.

"For others there may be some relief that after such a length of time there is some visible progress in an investigation that has had to be kept secret."

More arrests 'likely'

He went on to appeal for more people, especially from West Yorkshire, to come forward to help with the investigation.

"I firmly believe that there are other people who have knowledge of what lay behind the attack in July 2005 - knowledge that they have not shared with us, in fact I don't only believe it, I know it for a fact."

Mr Clarke said the police particularly required information about the movements of the four 7 July suicide bombers as well as the three men who had been charged.

He said it was "highly likely" that more arrests would be made and described the 7 July investigation as a "complicated jigsaw with thousands of pieces".

"We now have enough of the pieces in the right places for us to see the picture, but it is far from complete. Because of that, the search is not over."

The three men are due to appear at London's City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

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