Zambia to hand over July 7 'mastermind' to Britain

ZAMBIA is preparing to hand over to Britain a Briton of Indian origin, arrested in the southern African nation 11 days ago, who reportedly was the mastermind of the London bombings.

"We have tentatively agreed to hand him over to the British Government," said a police official, who asked not to be named.

"The US Government also requested us to hand him over to them, but after further discussions amongst ourselves, we realised that it would be proper that he be handed over to the British Government because he is a British national," he said.

Zambian police confirmed they were holding Haroon Aswat, who was arrested on July 20 in Lusaka.

Aswat, 31, has been named in US and British media reports as the alleged mastermind behind the July 7 blasts that killed 56 people including four suicide bombers.

"We are still trying to finalise the little details concerning the handover," the official said amid expectations he may be turned over to British authorities later.

Aswat was also wanted by US authorities over alleged attempts to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon.

Aswat's family on Saturday said they were concerned he might be sent to the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding an estimated 600 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

British officials have refused to comment on reports that Aswat is the suspected mastermind behind the July 7 attacks on three London Underground trains and a bus. Scotland Yard has not confirmed Aswat is a terrorist suspect, describing the media reports as "speculation."

But Zambian police inspector general Ephraim Maateyo said on Saturday that Aswat's arrest "follows ongoing security investigations on the threat of terrorism to which Mr Aswat is alleged to be connected."

US media claimed on July 22, the day after the four abortive attacks on London's transport system, that US police and intelligence agencies were taking part in the hunt for Aswat.

They said the four suicide bombers behind the July 7 attacks had made about 20 calls to him on his mobile telephone.

British newspapers reported on Saturday that Aswat had told his captors he was once a bodyguard for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The Times said that would make him the "most prominent Briton in the terror network".

But Zambian officials have been cautious about Aswat's alleged role in the bombings.

"This is a very sensitive and delicate matter which we are handling with utmost care," a Zambian intelligence official said earlier this week.

"We don't want to blow this thing out of proportion."

Aswat, who reportedly spent time in South Africa and Botswana before entering Zambia on July 6, had been on a watch list of Western intelligence agencies who tipped off Zambian authorities, officials said.

He was being held at an unknown location in Lusaka.