BRITAIN'S biggest manhunt spread to southern Africa yesterday after claims that a Yorkshire-born militant linked to the London bombings had been captured in Zambia.
Haroon Rashid Aswat has been on the run since 1999 when he allegedly tried to set up training camps for al-Qaeda in the United States. His name emerged within days of the July 7 attacks, as a possible orchestrator of the synchronised suicide bombings that killed 52 people.
The 30-year-old activist from Dewsbury was reported to have slipped into Britain a fortnight before the attacks and flew out hours before the four bombers struck. Senior security sources in Islamabad told The Times that they had been asked by Britain within days of the first wave of attacks for help in tracking down Aswat. British police are checking claims that he was in phone contact with at least one of the bombers who died in the July 7 attack.
Last night British diplomats in Lusaka said they were waiting to visit a British suspect being held in Zambia. Officials say that until they meet the detainee they cannot be certain he is Aswat. Diplomats hope to see him in the next 48 hours.
A Zambian official said Aswat was detained in the town of Livingstone after crossing the border from Zimbabwe.
Aswat has been an elusive figure for Western intelligence agencies. After his trip to Oregon to set up a training camp in Bly, he was reported to have been killed by US troops in Afghanistan. Then last week he was said to be in Pakistan's custody. Officials there denied that but said they were looking for him at Britain's request.
Aswat is known to have used a number of aliases over the past seven years and is a master at changing his appearance. He is named in FBI documents seen by The Times as being a key figure in al-Qaeda.
The Los Angeles Times yesterday reported his capture in Zambia, quoting two US anti-terrorism officials linked to the arrest. The unnamed officials did not elaborate on the circumstances of his arrest a week ago or say why he was in Zambia.
Aswat's family, who come from India, live in Batley. where his father, Rashid, 59, runs a bathroom business. Rashid Aswat told The Times last week: "I've been living in this country for 40 years and we've never dreamt about something like this happening. Islam does not permit suicides. You can't find it anywhere in the Koran. This is a very sad time for everybody, Muslim and non-Muslim."
Intelligence sources quoted by the Los Angeles Times say Aswat has spent time in South Africa and travelled extensively. CNN reported last night that US and Zambian officials were in negotiations over who would get access to Aswat.
The FBI documents reveal details of how a London-based cleric sent Aswat to America in 1999 to assess a ranch in Oregon for use as a terrorist training camp. The papers indicate that Aswat spent three months in America and engaged in firearms and poisons training but decided against using the ranch to train American recruits.
James Ujaama, an American convert to Islam who lived in London and has been convicted of helping the Taleban, has already given evidence against Aswat. Ujaama is "a co-operating witness" in several anti- terrorist inquiries in the US.
Last night US intelligence officials confirmed that Aswat was the man they wanted in connection with a 1999 plot to establish a "jihad" training camp in Oregon. British officials are anxious to visit Aswat because of concerns that he may be taken to one of the centres where the US holds terrorists.
Martin Mubanga, a British Muslim, was arrested in Zambia in 2002 and taken to the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, where he was held until his release without charge this year. Mr Mubanga has claimed that he was interrogated by US officials in Zambia who at one point tried to recruit him as an undercover agent based in South Africa or Leeds.
Scotland Yard sources said that it had no immediate plans to send officers to interview Aswat and the US inquiry would take precedence. A source said: "He may be of interest to us in the future but he is not our priority at the moment."
Sean O'Neill and Daniel McGrory
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