[Times-UK] Zahid Hussain, Sean O'Neill, and Catherine Philp - Rashid Rauf, a key suspect in the alleged Heathrow bomb plot, escaped police custody in Pakistan after officers allowed him to pray at a mosque as he was being driven back to prison after a court hearing on Britain's request for his extradition. Rauf left court in his uncle's car, accompanied by two police officers, and was allowed to stop at a mosque to pray. The two officers waited in the car while Rauf and his uncle entered the prayer room, but when they failed to emerge, the officers discovered that the men had escaped through the back door. Rauf is suspected of playing a vital role in the development of the al-Qaeda threat to Britain and is believed to have acted as a facilitator for young Britons arriving in Pakistan for jihadi training.
2007-12-19 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive