One of doc plotters visted Pakistan before attack

Telegraph:

At least one of the alleged plotters of the London and Glasgow car bombings had spent time in Pakistan, it emerged yesterday.

The information suggests that the leaders of the gang may have been seeking approval from al-Qa'eda before going ahead with their plan.

The main figures in other plots, including the July 7 2005 suicide bombers, the fertiliser gang and the "gas limo" terrorists all visited al-Qa'eda leaders in Pakistan before finalising their plans.

It is likely the car bomb plot was inspired by attacks in Iraq but needed clearance from the Pakistan cells before it was sanctioned by al-Qa'eda.

The bomb-making tips could have been gleaned from Arabic websites which gave details of how to make gas cylinders explode.

Sources told The Daily Telegraph that potassium chlorate from household matches formed a key ingredient of the detonators.

The cell suspected of planning the attacks comprised young men, mostly doctors, from India and the Middle East.

Yesterday a senior doctor at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock said there was a delay in one of the alleged plotters taking up his post.

"There were some problems with a visa and he was about two weeks late getting here," the doctor said. "There were calls from him about the delay and he was in Pakistan at the time."

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The Jeep which was driven into Glasgow airport in flames a week ago was bought for £1,720 and parked in Liverpool.

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The details of the story are pretty sketchy. The story does not indicate which of the plotters was delayed in transit, but it suggest if was one of the doctors, and not the engineer who burned himself. It looks like they did not put a lot of money into the jeep that planned on making a one way trip with.