Man behind UK Parliament attack accused of attempted murder
LONDON A British man accused of a terror attack after driving into a barrier protecting the Houses of Parliament faces investigation for attempted murder, police said yesterday.
Three people were injured when the 29-year-old, named by the media as Salih Khater, drove over a pavement and into cyclists before crashing into the barrier on Tuesday morning.
Police said the man, a British national originally from Sudan, was initially arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences but revealed he had been "further arrested for attempted murder".
The incident had disturbing parallels with an attack last year, when a man drove his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before crashing outside Parliament and running inside.
Khalid Masood, 52, fatally stabbed a police officer guarding Parliament - one of five people killed that day - before being shot dead.
The man involved in Tuesday's incident was believed to be from Birmingham, according to his local MP - the same English city where Masood also lived.
Police searched two addresses in Birmingham on Tuesday and were at a third address yesterday.
Another location in nearby Nottingham was also searched.
Top police counter-terrorism officer Neil Basu said that the suspect was not believed to be known to intelligence agencies, but The Times reported he was known to police.
The paper reported that Khater is a shop manager in Birmingham and had studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology, according to his Facebook page.
Mr Abubakr Ibrahim, a childhood friend, told the paper: "He is not a terrorist. I have known him since childhood. He is a good man."
He said Khater was the son of sorghum farmers and had moved to Britain about five years ago to earn money to help his family.
Coventry University confirmed that Khater began studying accountancy there in September but dropped out in May.
The Daily Mail quoted friends of Khater saying his father and brother had recently died within months of each other.
- AFP
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