Philadelphia – Two of the seven doctors arrested in Britain after last week’s failed bomb attacks had explored the possibility of coming to the United States, making inquiries to a Philadelphia-based organization, sources said.
The two took preliminary steps to apply for graduate medical-education programs in this country, sources familiar with the FBI investigation told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
This is the first indication that members of the alleged terrorist cell in Britain expressed any interest in coming to the U.S.
After the airport bombing attempt in Glasgow, Scotland, FBI agents visited the Philadelphia headquarters of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, sources said. The nonprofit organization is a national clearinghouse that certifies the qualifications of foreign-trained doctors to work as medical residents in the U.S.
Agents found records there on two of the British suspects. One of them, sources said, is neurologist Mohammed Jamil Asha, 26, a Jordanian who was born in Saudi Arabia and is of Palestinian descent.
The name of the second doctor who expressed an interest in coming to the U.S. could not be learned.
Stephen Seeling, vice president of operations for the educational commission, confirmed that FBI agents visited him at his Market Street office this week.
Citing privacy rules, Seeling said he could not discuss the circumstances of the visit or confirm any information about any foreign doctor who may have contacted the commission about coming to this country.
Asha and his wife, Marwa, 27, a medical technician, were arrested by British authorities on a highway near their Manchester home Saturday, hours after the car-bomb attempt at the Glasgow airport. Also in the car was their 1 1/2-year-old son, who was placed with British social services.
Asha and his wife are among eight foreign medical professionals arrested by British authorities in the plot, which began when two bomb-laden Mercedes sedans were discovered last week near a London nightclub.
It could not be learned Thursday how far Asha and the second doctor had proceeded in the certification process, or where in the U.S. they hoped to study.
Seeking certification from the educational commission, a nonprofit, private organization, is the first step in a multilayered process for graduates of foreign medical schools who seek a medical residency in the U.S.
“We verify medical documents, credentials, diplomas and transcripts,” Seeling said. “The doctors we certify are not guaranteed of anything.”
Also Thursday, British investigators concluded that the two men who carried out an attack at Glasgow International Airport on Saturday had sped there after a failed attempt to bomb a nightclub in central London, a British security official said.
And for the first time, witnesses, a neighbor and the police have provided descriptions of the two men – Dr. Bilal Abdulla and Dr. Khalil Ahmed – saying they may have lived together intermittently and that a Jeep Cherokee similar to the one used to crash into an airport terminal had been seen speeding around in the weeks before the botched bombing.
The manager of a local cab company said in an interview Thursday that on two occasions over a five-week period from the end of May to the end of June a taxi picked up the two men together, suggesting that they could have been sharing a home from time to time.
Much still remains unknown about the plot, including whether it was planned inside Britain, in Iraq or elsewhere.
The New York Times contributed to this report.
