British police arrested two people in northern England in
connection with the attempted attacks in London and Glasgow, police
said Sunday.
The two suspects were arrested in the county of Cheshire by
counter-terrorism officers, London's Metropolitan Police said in a
statement.
Glasgow Airport was evacuated and closed after a burning car
crashed into the main terminal building on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, police foiled a car bomb plot in central London after
they discovered explosives packed into a car outside a nightclub
near Piccadilly Circus and another car parked nearby.
Peter Clarke, deputy assistant commissioner of the
anti-terrorism branch at the Metropolitan Police, said the attack
at Glasgow airport was linked to the incident in London.
Clarke told a press conference that one suspect suffering from
severe burns is in critical condition and that suspicious device
had been found at the hospital where suspect was being treated.
"The suspect was wearing suspicious device," he said.
What's more, he said, the burning Cherokee jeep which crashed
into the main terminal building at the Glasgow Airport on Saturday
afternoon is now in "highly unstable condition at the scene of
attack." It contained inflammable materials.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the public on Saturday
night to remain vigilant and support the police after the national
security alert level was raised to "critical".
He reassured people that it is right to raise security level at
airports and crowded places, and safety of the people is the
government's first duty.
"The British people must remain united, resolute and strong," he
said after chairing a Cobra meeting with the Home Secretary and the
security officers.
The highest security alert level means imminent attack is
expected.
The Home Office has also ordered security to be tightened across
the country.
A burning car was driven at the front of the main terminal
building at Glasgow Airport, at around 3:15 PM. on Saturday
afternoon. Two people were arrested and the airport was evacuated
and closed following the incident.
Witnesses described the car as a Jeep Cherokee which was driven
at speed towards the building with flames coming out from
underneath.
Shortly after the incident, vehicles access were closed at New
Castle and Edinburgh airports on heightened state of alert, while
the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool was closed.
The incident is now treated as a terrorist attack. And police
are calling on people to be vigilant.
(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2007)
