Egypt says London bomb suspect has no Qaeda link

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...c=Worldupdates

By Irene Klotz and Michael Christie

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian man arrested in Egypt in connection with bombings in London last week has no link to al Qaeda, Egypt's interior minister was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Habib el-Adli told al-Gomhuria newspaper that Western and Arab media had drawn hasty conclusions about 33-year-old Magdy Elnashar. London's police chief has said detectives are confident of finding an al Qaeda link to British bombers who killed 54 and wounded 700 in the attacks.

"Habib el-Adli confirmed that Magdy Elnashar had no connection with al Qaeda," said the newspaper, which did not quote the minister directly.

British newspapers say Elnashar rented a house in Leeds, northern England, that was raided by police during investigations into the bombings.

Elnasher, who is being questioned by the authorities, denies involvement in the attacks and had returned to Egypt from Britain for a six-week holiday, an Egyptian Interior Ministry statement said on Friday.

He had intended to go back to Britain, where he obtained a doctorate earlier this year. The Egyptian authorities have not said when he returned to Egypt or when or where he was arrested.

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