MICHELE NORRIS, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
Police in London have made important arrests in connection with last week's attempted bombings. Armed officers took five people into custody at several locations across the capital today. And Italian police arrested another man in Rome. British media are reporting that police have now detained all four suspects in last week's failed attacks. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from London.
ANTHONY KUHN reporting:
After a tense week of raids and searches, it appeared that the police had finally caught their quarry without bloodshed. Police raided two residences in west London and arrested three men. Around midmorning local time, police snipers moved onto rooftops and assault teams in body armor surrounded the Peabody building's housing project. As police negotiators talked with suspects, resident Paul Redfern spoke to the BBC by phone.
Mr. PAUL REDFERN (Resident): He responded in the early stages, but now they're getting no response, and they're saying, `Must come out. Take your clothes off. Come out with your hands on your head, and you'll be all right.' Then they're saying, `Is anybody in there that's stopping you coming out?'
(Soundbite of explosion)
Mr. REDFERN: Ah! Explosion. Just now. Did you hear it? That...
(Soundbite of explosion)
Mr. REDFERN: Now that sounds as if the police have break...
(Soundbite of explosion)
Mr. REDFERN: Oh, my God. The police are breaking in.
KUHN: Scotland Yard embargoed media coverage from the scene of the standoff for the whole morning. When it was lifted, the BBC carried an amateur recording of the arrest.
(Soundbite of amateur recording)
Unidentified Officer: Muhammad!
KUHN: `Muhammad!' the police shouted. `Come to the window and look through. Let me see your hands and walk to me!' Later, television footage showed two shirtless men with their hands up emerging from an apartment onto a balcony. One of them appeared to spit and cleared his nose as if he had been teargassed. Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch, later gave his version of the events.
Mr. PETER CLARKE (Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch): The men on the premises at the Peabody buildings were asked to surrender to police but failed to do so. As a result, specialist tactics were used.
KUHN: Officers then took the men away to the high-security Paddington Green police station. Clarke said that one of the arrested men told police he was Ibrahim Muktar Said. Police have been looking for a 27-year-old Eritrean refugee with a similar name. He's suspected of trying to bomb a No. 26 bus in East London last week. Clarke said the other man identified himself as Ramsi Muhammad. Police arrested a third man not far away in West London's Notting Hill area. They also detained two women under anti-terrorism laws at Liverpool Street train station. Clarke said police arrested a fourth suspect today in Italy.
Mr. CLARKE: A European arrest warrant has been issued, and we will be seeking the return of that man to this country. The man who has been arrested in Rome and who is named on the warrant has been identified as Hussain Osman.
KUHN: The Italian media have reported that on the day of last week's attacks, police detected calls from a cell phone registered in Rome to a relative of Hussain Osman. The calls were made in London near one of the attack sites. Police traced the phone to Paris, Milan and then Rome, where they caught Hussain Osman. Clarke warned the public to remain vigilant.
Mr. CLARKE: Despite the progress that has been made with the investigation, we must not be complacent. The threat remains and is very real. The public must be watchful and alert. I would like to reassure the public that we are doing all we can to keep you safe.
KUHN: British media are claiming that all four suspects have now been caught. But police have yet to confirm the names of all four or confirm if there were only four. But it's clear that with the arrests, the police now have more sources of intelligence than ever. They also have trails to pursue at home and abroad in search of the masterminds behind the attacks. And Clarke said that the public would be seeing a lot more very visible police activity. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, London.
Copyright © 2005 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.