A suspect arrested in a dawn raid in the English city of Birmingham yesterday was believed to be Somali-born Yasin Hassan Omar, one of four men suspected of taking part in botched July 21 attacks against three London subway trains and a bus, Sky News and the BBC said yesterday.

London's Metropolitan Police said they would not release the name of the suspect they are holding and would not comment on the two news reports. Earlier, police confirmed that they had arrested four men in Birmingham who they said were associated with the attacks. One of the men was sent to London for further questioning.

Police earlier released the names of two of the suspects in the July 21 attack, 24-year-old Omar and Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, also known as Muktar Mohammed Said.

Omar arrived in Britain from Somalia in 1992 at age 11, the Home Office said. A Somali citizen with British residency, he is suspected of trying to blow up a subway train near Warren Street station.

Said came to Britain in 1990 from Eritrea, his family said. He was granted residency in 1992 and British citizenship in September 2004, the Home Office said.

Police sources said that man, detained in the Hay Mills area of Britain's second city, was the most significant arrest.

Police used a stun gun which emitted an electronic shock to temporarily disable him and a suspect package was discovered at the address, a police spokeswoman said. The BBC said the man wore a rucksack.

The three other men were detained at another address and taken to a West Midlands police station. All of the arrests were made under anti-terrorism laws.

Airport arrest

Police said they arrested a man yesterday at Luton airport near London under anti-terrorism legislation as he prepared to leave on a flight for France.

Bedfordshire police said the man was due to fly to Nimes with budget carrier Ryanair, but did not say why he was arrested or if the detention was connected with the recent attacks against London's transit system. The plane was later allowed to take off, police said.

They added that the flight was initially delayed while police carried out checks.

"I would like to reassure everybody that their safety is our priority and apologize for the delay to this flight, but it is important that all calls to the police are thoroughly investigated. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused," Deputy Chief Constable Martin Stuart said in a statement.

In another development, police arrested another two men at a train station in the central town of Grantham as they travelled from the northern city of Newcastle towards London's King's Cross station.

A police source said the Grantham arrests were not thought to be significant.

(China Daily July 28, 2005)