On June 29 in central London, two Mercedes cars packed with fuel, gas cylinders and nails, were discovered parked in the city before they could explode. And on June 30, a fuel-filled jeep crashed into the entrance of Glasgow Airport's main passenger terminal, bursting into flames on impact.
Eight people have been detained as of today. They are all of foreign origin and aged 25 to 30, and at least four of them were identified as working in healthcare.
A man who lived and worked in Australia as a hospital registrar had applied for the post through an employment agency in Liverpool, U.K. He was stopped by police at Brisbane airport trying to board a plane for Southeast Asia with a one-way ticket.
A 26-year-old Jordanian man was detained Monday on the M6 motorway in Cheshire together with a woman thought to be his wife. Mohammed Asha had worked as a doctor in Staffordshire. Another man, 26, who worked at the Halton Hospital in Cheshire, was arrested in Liverpool.
An Iraqi doctor was arrested Saturday after driving a car laden with gas cylinders into a Glasgow airport terminal. His accomplice is currently under armed guard in the hospital in critical condition. Another two men, 25 and 28 respectively, were arrested in Paisley, close to Glasgow airport, Monday, police said.
After the attacks, Britain raised its terror alert to the highest, 'critical' level. In a televised address, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took over from Tony Blair last Wednesday, urged the nation to be vigilant.
