Biohazard suits found in London mosque

Got a late start blogging today with some overnight technical problems. Just started in on the Sunday Times -- there's a report there that I haven't seen anywere else yet:

Detectives investigating a plot by Islamic terrorists to carry out a chemical weapons attack in Britain have found chemical warfare protection suits at a mosque in north London.

The NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) suits were discovered during a raid by 150 police officers on the Finsbury Park mosque last Monday. Informed sources said the discovery confirmed growing fears by police and MI5 that a chemical attack is being planned by supporters of Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda movement in Britain. . .

. . . discovery of the NBC suits has been kept a closely guarded secret known only to a handful of senior officers. Ministers are acutely aware that any suggestion that the mosque may have been involved with chemical weapons could inflame racial tensions. Seven men — six north Africans and one eastern European — were arrested during the raid. Last night two were still being held under the terrorism act.

It is not known how many suits were found at the mosque or their purpose. However, police say there has so far been no evidence found of chemicals or anything that would pose an immediate threat to the public. . .

Reda Husseine, an Algerian journalist once paid by French and British security services to infiltrate the mosque, said he had heard conversations by militants there about the possible use of chemical weapons. He said: “In 1999 and 2000, there were discussions about chemical, biological and even a possible attack with a ‘dirty bomb’ (a crudely constructed device containing uranium). I told British authorities about that. They dismissed it as rubbish”. . .

Last month a chemical warfare suit was seized after French police arrested four suspects in a Paris suburb. Sources say that raid has helped investigators in Britain begin to unravel a new terrorist network. . .

Scotland Yard said it was “not prepared to discuss” the investigation.

Posted by David on January 26, 2003 2:47 PM