London 7/21 Suspect Extradited and Another Indicted - and Indication of Saudi Funding (updated)
By Andrew Cochran
Two major developments in the failed London 7/21 attacks: A primary suspect in the attack, Haroon Rashid Aswad, has been extradited from Zambia to London. And one of the 7/21 suspected bombers, Yassin Hassan Omar, has become the first one officially indicted and charged with attempted murder, conspiracy, and possession of explosives. He is the first person to be charged for direct involvement in the attack - others have been charged for failure to provide material information. Also, today's London Observer reports that "Saudi Arabia officially warned Britain of an imminent terrorist attack on London just weeks ahead of the 7 July bombings after calls from one of al-Qaeda's most wanted operatives were traced to an active cell in the United Kingdom." Recall that last week, Italian authorities revealed that they traced a call from Hussain Osman, another 7/21 suspect now held in Rome, to Saudi Arabia. UPDATE: London Telegraph story posted today: "Two senior al-Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia made money transfers and used coded text messages to communicate with suspected terrorists in Britain before last month's attacks in London, according to officials in the kingdom...'The messages and the money transfers were highly professional. They were using SIM cards for six hours and then throwing them away.'" This raises the probability that the London attackers were closely allied with the Saudi-based al-Qaeda group, which is funded from and protected by sympathetic Saudis.
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