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Attacks shock families, friends
Trio from Leeds led ordinary lives; No one suspected they were foot soldiers in bin Laden's war against the West
MATTHEW FISHER
CanWest News Service; AP contributed to this report
Thursday, July 14, 2005
A few months ago, Shazhad Tanweer was telling jokes, driving his father's Mercedes and wearing a blue bib while serving fish and chips to customers in his father's shop.
Only two weeks ago, the 22-year-old sports science graduate was indulging his passion for cricket by playing with friends on a neighbourhood pitch.
Hasib Hussain, 19, was a charmer who liked to flirt. He wore blue contact lenses and hair so long that one of his friends said it "fell like a curtain" atop his lanky frame.
Thirty-year-old Mohammed Sidique Khan worked as a counsellor in a youth centre. He seemed to spend more time in the gym than the mosque.
Last Thursday, the trio broke from their ordinary lives in the most shocking way. Along with at least one other Muslim of Pakistani heritage born and raised in West Yorkshire, they travelled to London to become foot soldiers in Osama bin Laden's war against the West.
After saying goodbye to one another at King's Cross Station, they went their separate ways. Minutes later, they killed themselves and more than 50 others, and maimed about 700 people, in four suicide attacks.
Police have not publicly confirmed the identities of any suspects, but British media have named the three, all from Leeds.
What might have driven them to violence was the only topic yesterday in this working-class northern city with a vibrant, multi-ethnic population.
Tanweer, whose father was born in Pakistan, lived all his life in the Beeston area of Leeds. A devoted athlete, he studied sports science at Leeds Metropolitan University and planned to get involved in sports professionally. He showed up twice a week for pickup soccer games, said a teammate who gave his name only as Saj.
"He was normal. We used to drink Coke and Fanta together," Saj said. "He was quiet. He was religious. He went to every mosque here. There are loads of mosques here."
It was unclear what might have driven the three men to the radical side, as it was unclear how much contact they had with Muslim extremist groups or cells outside Britain.
More
Trio from Leeds led ordinary lives; No one suspected they were foot soldiers in bin Laden's war against the West
MATTHEW FISHER
CanWest News Service; AP contributed to this report
Thursday, July 14, 2005
A few months ago, Shazhad Tanweer was telling jokes, driving his father's Mercedes and wearing a blue bib while serving fish and chips to customers in his father's shop.
Only two weeks ago, the 22-year-old sports science graduate was indulging his passion for cricket by playing with friends on a neighbourhood pitch.
Hasib Hussain, 19, was a charmer who liked to flirt. He wore blue contact lenses and hair so long that one of his friends said it "fell like a curtain" atop his lanky frame.
Thirty-year-old Mohammed Sidique Khan worked as a counsellor in a youth centre. He seemed to spend more time in the gym than the mosque.
Last Thursday, the trio broke from their ordinary lives in the most shocking way. Along with at least one other Muslim of Pakistani heritage born and raised in West Yorkshire, they travelled to London to become foot soldiers in Osama bin Laden's war against the West.
After saying goodbye to one another at King's Cross Station, they went their separate ways. Minutes later, they killed themselves and more than 50 others, and maimed about 700 people, in four suicide attacks.
Police have not publicly confirmed the identities of any suspects, but British media have named the three, all from Leeds.
What might have driven them to violence was the only topic yesterday in this working-class northern city with a vibrant, multi-ethnic population.
Tanweer, whose father was born in Pakistan, lived all his life in the Beeston area of Leeds. A devoted athlete, he studied sports science at Leeds Metropolitan University and planned to get involved in sports professionally. He showed up twice a week for pickup soccer games, said a teammate who gave his name only as Saj.
"He was normal. We used to drink Coke and Fanta together," Saj said. "He was quiet. He was religious. He went to every mosque here. There are loads of mosques here."
It was unclear what might have driven the three men to the radical side, as it was unclear how much contact they had with Muslim extremist groups or cells outside Britain.
More
