London, July 7
Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah became the first man to be charged in connection with the failed UK bombing plots as the country today marked the second anniversary of the London suicide attacks in the shadow of the latest terror threat.

Abdullah, 27, who was the passenger of the burning explosives-laden jeep that was allegedly driven by Indian Kafeel Ahmed into the Glasgow Airport last Saturday, was remanded in police custody till July 27 by the Westminster’s court in central London.

The charge, covering a period from January 1 to July 1 this year, alleged that he “unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom”.

If found guilty Abdullah faces a life sentence.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Abdullah was being charged under the 1883 Explosive Substances Act.

Abdullah was arrested at the Glasgow airport on June 30 after a jeep was driven into the doors of the main terminal building.

Kafeel Ahmed, 27, from Bangalore, who reportedly drove the jeep, is still in a critical condition in a specialist burns unit at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary after suffering 90 per cent burns in the incident. Kafeel was not a medic but an engineer with a PhD in design and technology.

On the morning of July 7, 2005, London was rocked by in near-simultaneous suicide attacks on the public transport system, which killed 56 persons.

“Other individuals arrested by the police in connection with the bomb attacks remain in custody pending a charging decision,” Susan Hemming, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said.

She said: “We have been carefully examining and assessing the evidence against each individual in order to come to charging decisions at the earliest opportunity”. — PTI