Terror suspect detained in Australia

A 27-year-old man has been detained by police at Brisbane airport in connection with the attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow.

Australian authorities have confirmed that the man was a doctor who worked at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport, eastern Queensland.

The man, who was also an Indian national, was detained at the airport at the request of Britain as he reportedly tried to leave the country on a one-way ticket to India.

Staff at the hospital have described the man as a "model citizen".

It has also been reported that the man was working in Liverpool before coming to Australia. It is understood that a second doctor, who was also recruited from Liverpool, is also currently being interviewed by police in Australia.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, three controlled explosions were carried out on a car parked outside a mosque in Forth Street in the south of the city early on Tuesday morning.

Strathclyde Police said that the explosions were carried out as a precaution, although there was no specific information indicating that the car was a threat.

The first attempted bombings took place in London on Friday. The attacks involved two Mercedes cars, containing petrol, gas cylinders and nails, which were found in London's West End - one outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in The Haymarket and the other in a nearby street. The devices were defused.

On Saturday, a blazing Jeep Cherokee, loaded with gas cylinders, crashed into the doors of the main terminal at Glasgow airport.

On Tuesday it emerged that all those who were arrested had links to the NHS.

Two men were inside the vehicle and one of the men was badly burned. He is being treated in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, where he is in a critical condition and is under armed guard.

The other man in the vehicle, Iraqi Bilal Abdullah, 27, who is believed to be a doctor who worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, is being held by police in Scotland, but is expected to be transferred to London.

Police in the UK are continuing to question five other suspects in connection with the investigation.

Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, from Jordan, who worked at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust was arrested on the M6 in Cheshire on Saturday, along with a 27-year-old woman, believed to be his wife, who is reported to work as a lab technician at an NHS hospital in Shrewsbury.

Another 26-year-old man was also arrested in Liverpool on Sunday, while two other men, aged 28 and 25 and believed to be trainee doctors, were arrested in Paisley on Sunday.

Police have been granted another five days to question the two men arrested at Glasgow airport, while they have until Saturday to continue questioning the three people arrested in England.

Police are continuing to search a number of properties in connection with the investigation, including premises and vehicles within the grounds of the Royal Alexandra Hospital and properties in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire and Houston in Renfrewshire, near Glasgow.

Police have also appealed for information on the movements of the Jeep Cherokee - registration number L808 RDT - prior to the incident at Glasgow airport.

The terror alert in Britain remains at 'critical', meaning that an attack is expected imminently.

On Tuesday afternoon another two men were arrested in Blackburn under terror laws. However, it is not known if the arrests are connected to the London and Glasgow attacks.

Also on Tuesday, a controlled explosion was carried out on a suspect device outside Hammersmith underground station in west London.

There was also a security alert at Heathrow airport. Terminal 4 was evacuated after a suspect bag was discovered.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Anti-Terrorism hotline on: 0800 789 321.

(KMcA)