Westminster terror suspect was granted asylum in the UK after fleeing Gaddafi’s regime in Libya in 2010
Sudanese refugee Salih Khater, 29, spent two years in Libya working as a farm hand but left the nation as it was on the brink of civil war
WESTMINSTER terror suspect Salih Khater was granted asylum in the UK after fleeing Colonel Gaddafi’s evil regime in Libya, it emerged yesterday.
The man held by cops after a car drove into pedestrians outside Parliament is an Aston Villa fan who loves Celine Dion and Rihanna, The Sun can reveal.
Sudanese refugee Salih Khater, 29, was still in custody last night after detectives were granted more time to question him.
Meanwhile officers raided four properties in Birmingham and Nottingham.
The Sun has learned Khater spent two years working as a farm hand in Libya, but left in 2010 as the country teetered on the brink of civil war.
He is thought to have arrived illegally in the UK soon after and was granted asylum.
This is what we know so far...
- A silver Ford Fiesta crashed into anti-terror barriers outside the Houses of Parliament at 7.37am mowing down pedestrians and cyclists
- Three people were hurt - including a man and a woman who were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries who have since been discharged
- The 29-year-old driver, named by locals as Brit national Salih Khater, originally from Sudan, has been arrested on suspicion of terror offences and attempted murder
- The suspect left Birmingham late on Monday night and drove around London for several hours before the rampage
- Terror cops have carried out raids at two addresses in Birmingham, including the suspect's home, and one in Nottingham as part of their investigation
- Experts are investigating whether it was a copycat of the previous Westminster attack in March last year
- Extra cops will now be stationed at key transport hubs across the country
- Theresa May praised medics and police for their quick response to the "attack"
His Facebook account — now disabled — listed his favourite quote as: “Love is only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
He has shared music videos from artists including Celine Dion, and Eminem’s Love The Way You Lie featuring Rihanna.
Khater is not believed to have any links to extremist groups in Libya, Sudan or the UK and was not on any MI5 watchlist.
His brother Abdullah said he was a “normal person” and that the family were in shock.
But he was arrested on suspicion of terrorism and attempted murder after three people were hurt when a Ford Fiesta hit cyclists and pedestrians in Westminster on Tuesday.
The Met’s head of counter-terrorism Neil Basu said that Khater was not co-operating and the priority for investigators was to understand the motive of the attack.
Reports claimed he may have flipped after being investigated over “irregularities” in his UK citizenship application soon after the death of his brother.
A source close to the investigation said: “There is a growing view now that this may be less a carefully planned terrorist plot and more an act of extreme violence, sparked by anger and carried out in an extremely symbolic location.
“Regardless, anyone who sets out to hurt people deliberately in the same country that has welcomed them in — that represents a gross betrayal.”
Khater told potential employers he studied science and English in Sudan before moving to Libya in 2008.
But he made no mention of an electrical engineering degree he reportedly earned while in Sudan.
While in Libya, he worked on a farm in the town of Kufra — a notorious people-smuggling route used by traffickers as a springboard to get people to Europe and on to Britain.
IS fighters have also reportedly used the route to slip away from Iraq and Syria. It was unclear when Khater came to Britain, but by September 2010 he had enrolled at Birmingham City College to learn English.
A year later he became a licensed security guard and moved to Nottingham, where he worked as a picker and packer at a bakery for 11 months.
Pal Osman Tergo, 36, knew Khater when the pair lived in the Radford area of the city. He told The Sun: “I knew him very well, but haven’t spoken to him in a while.
“I couldn’t see any problems with him. He has never been mixed up in anything like this — it must have been an accident.”
Khater spent another year working in Nottingham as a guard at a Sports Direct store and then for eight months at a security firm. He was thought to have moved back to Birmingham in late 2014.
He told one potential employer he was “honest, polite, mature and responsible” and that he could “stay calm in high-pressure situations”.
The basketball fan had several low-paid jobs before landing a place at Coventry University to read accountancy last September. But he left in May after failing his first year.
He was thought to have held a full UK driving licence for at least five years and also had a CSCS card letting him work on building sites.
Khater also spent time in the Bunna internet cafe in Birmingham. One regular, who only gave the name Adam, said: “I’m still in shock. I’ve known him for about a year and he is a very, very good man. He was polite, humble and he kept himself to himself. I can’t see it not being an accident. I can’t see him hurting a fly, never mind a human being.”
Nassar Mahmood, a trustee of the Birmingham Central Mosque, said Khater had travelled down to London to apply for a visa to visit his home country of Sudan.
But he added: “I don’t think he got to that stage. He went early in the evening the night before. It’s not easy for a British person to get a visa for Sudan. I’m not sure if he has got a British passport.
“We have over 20,000 people at this mosque and it’s hard to keep track of everybody. He hadn’t shown any signs of being a fervent worshipper. He did not worship here.
“We heard he is someone who wants to get on in life and is struggling to establish himself. He was a very good person as far as we know.
“He hasn’t shown any signs of radicalisation so I think we will have to wait for the police to conclude their investigation and decide if they want to charge him, and then we can look into it more.”
The silver Ford Fiesta Zetec used in the attack was driven from Birmingham to London late on Monday and spent almost five hours in the Tottenham Court Road area.
It was then driven around Westminster for more than 90 minutes before it crashed into a security barrier at 7.37am on Tuesday.
COPS RAID FLAT ABOVE NET CAFE
POLICE have raided a flat above the Bunna Internet Cafe in Birmingham where Khater was a customer and an apartment in a block of flats a mile away.
Officers sectioned off the tenth floor of Brinklow Tower near the city’s Central Mosque.
A search of a third unknown Birmingham add-ress is ongoing.
Police have also raided a house in Nottingham.
A Bunna cafe customer said yesterday: “He was one of many people who regularly came here. He was quite shy and remote.”
Footage aired by the BBC showed the car’s approach to the Houses of Parliament, where it crossed into oncoming traffic and hit several people before entering a small road and crashing into a security barrier.
One man was treated at the scene, while another man and a woman were taken to hospital but were discharged by Tuesday evening.
A man in a black puffer jacket was seen being led away in handcuffs as armed police swarmed the scene.
There was no one else in the car and no weapons found, police said.
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