Zambian police confirms arrest of London bombing suspect

Zambian police confirmed on Saturday the arrest of Haroon Aswat, an Indian-Briton who was suspected to be linked with the July 7 London bombings.

"Mr. Aswat, born on 22nd September, 1974, was arrested by Zambian security authorities on 20th July, 2005 in Lusaka," said a statement released by the Zambian police inspector general Ephraim Mateyo, adding he was now in the custody of Zambian security authorities.

Aswat caught the attention of police when it was discovered that about 20 calls have been placed from his cell phone to some of the four suspected suicide bombers known to investigators.

"His arrest follows ongoing security investigations on the threat of terrorism to which Mr Aswat is alleged to be connected," said the statement, adding Aswat entered the country on July 6.

The statement also said the British authorities were duly informed on the arrest of Aswat in Zambia, and the two governments were cooperating accordingly.

"Zambia is closely following up Mr Aswat's case within and outside the region with other concerned security stakeholders," the statement said.

Zambian officials have recently been cited by reports as saying that Aswat had told investigators he used to be a body guard for terrorist network al-Qaida chief, terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Aswat was also implicated in a 1999 plot to set up a terrorists training camp in Oregon of the United States.

Reports cited a Zambian intelligence source as saying that Zambia was going to hand Aswat over to Britain, adding British interrogators were already in Zambia and had already interrogated him.

Though Zambia does not have an extradition treaty with Britain, the suspect will be extradited under a Commonwealth extradition agreement, the source said.

The suspect's Indian-born father, Rashid Aswat, 59, lives in Batley in northern England, close to Leeds, where three of the July 7 bombers hailed from, according to reports.

Source: Xinhua