Widow of London bomber held in anti-terror raids

The widow of Mohammed Sidique Khan - the ringleader of the July 7 suicide bombers - and her brother were among four people arrested yesterday in an anti-terrorist investigation.

Hasina Patel, 29, her 30- year-old brother, Arshad, and 34-year-old Khalid Khaliq were held during raids in West Yorkshire. Imran Motala, 22, who is also said to be related to Ms Patel, was in custody following another operation in Birmingham.

Police forensic teams were carrying out searches at seven addresses in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire yesterday. One of the sites, in Dewsbury, was close to the family home of Shahzad Tanweer, another of the 7 July bombers, whose attacks on the London transport system led to the deaths of 52 people. Last month, three men - Mohammed Shakil, 30, Sadeer Saleem, 26, and Waheed Ali, 23, from Beeston, Leeds - became the first people to appear in court charged in connection with the attacks.

Other addresses being searched last night were at Leonard Road, Handsworth, in Birmingham, and a block of student flats at Selly Oak.

Last night, those arrested were being questioned at Paddington Green police station in west London on suspicion of commissioning, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism.

According to Whitehall sources, the allegation against Ms Patel was that she had knowledge of the London plot but failed to alert the authorities, rather than any claim of being actively involved in the attack.

The arrests, on intelligence provided by MI5, were carried out by unarmed police officers. Chief Superintendent Barry South, of West Yorkshire police, said: "We don't perceive any threat from the addresses that we are searching at this moment in time."

Ms Patel, the first woman to be held in connection with the London bombings, was arrested at a mid-terrace house in Dale Street, Dewsbury, the town where she lived with her husband and daughter. A neighbour said: "We have had no problems, they are always smiling."

At Selly Oak, police were guarding Victoria Hall yesterday, a students hall of residence. They are said to have taken away a silver Peugeot car. Mangeet Mangal, a second-year chemistry student, said the flat which had been raided was used by female students.

Mustafa Mohammed, a neighbour of Imran Motala, who was held in Birmingham, said: "I grew up with Imran and his brother, Idreas. He had a girlfriend at Birmingham University. They have been together for a year and he was always at her halls visiting her."

A car was also taken away from another address, Hayburn Gardens, Batley, where police also removed items in a plastic bag. A neighbour said a man who had a beard and wore Islamic clothing had moved to the house about 18 months ago with his wife and two children. He added: "They kept themselves to themselves. He seemed pleasant enough, and very quiet. I spoke to him a few times, he's just a normal fellow, nothing suspicious about him."

The house at Tempest Road in Beeston, close to the home of Tanweer, was raided in the aftermath of the 7 July bombings. A neighbour said a young Pakistani couple had lived at the address with their three children.