Glasgow airport terrorist had aviation connection

The man believed to have been the driver of the burning Jeep Cherokee that was intentionally crashed into the Glasgow Airport terminal building on June 30, 2007 reportedly has -- or had -- a connection to the aviation industry. The man, identified as 27-year old Kafeel Ahmed, had worked in Bangalore, India at a company called Infotech, a large outsourcing firm.

According to the New York Times, Kafeel Ahmed worked as an aeronautical engineer at Infotech between December 2005 and July 2006. Infotech's clients in the aviation industry include Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, and Pratt & Whitney. In a telephone interview with a New York Times reporter, a company spokesman declined to name the clients whose projects Mr. Ahmed worked on while employed at Infotech. It was noted that "there has been no suggestion that Mr. Ahmed did anything untoward while at Infotech."

Kafeel Ahmed, who suffered burns to over 90% of his body as a result of his actions at Glasgow, remains in critical condition at Glasgow Royal Infirmary's burn unit. He is not expected to survive.

Ahmed's 26-year old brother Sabeel, a medical doctor, is among eight suspects being detained in connection with the failed car bomb plot. According to an  article published in the International Herald Tribune, Sabeel Ahmed is being held in Liverpool.

Kafeel Ahmed's alleged accomplice in the Glasgow incident, 27-year old medical doctor Bilal Abdullah, was arrested at the scene and is so far the only suspect who has been charged. The Cambridge Evening News reported on the proceedings at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London this past Saturday morning, during which Bilal Abdullah was formally charged:

The court clerk told him: "The charge against you is that between January 1 and July 1 this year within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, you unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom."

Abdulla, 27, stood in the dock while the charge, which carries a maximum life sentence, was read out to him but had earlier failed to stand when District Judge Anthony Evans entered the room.

The Cambridge Evening News article says that Abdullah was charged under the 1883 Explosive Substances Act.

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