London Bombing Suspect Arrested

One of the London bombing suspects, who had studied at North Carolina State University, has been arrested. From the Associated Press:

LONDON - Police in Egypt have arrested an Egyptian biochemist sought in the probe of the London bombings, an official said Friday. Meanwhile, authorities investigated a possible link between al-Qaida and the suicide team that carried out attacks.

Magdy el-Nashar, 33, was taken into custody upon his arrival in Cairo from abroad, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement of the information had not yet been made. El-Nashar, who studied at North Carolina State University and taught at Leeds University in Britain, was being interrogated by Egyptian authorities, the official said.

The official could not specify the date of the arrest or where el-Nashar was arriving from, but said it could be as long as a week ago.

Metropolitan Police in London said a man has been arrested in Cairo, but they would not confirm his name or characterize him as a suspect.

Update: Was British Grant Money Used to Finance the London Terror Attacks?

Magdy el-Nashar is listed as a Fellow of the Bioscience Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship:

Magdy Elnashar, University of Leeds

At the University of Leeds Magdy is researching a carrageenan gel matrix scaffold to immobilize enzymes and provide an alternative to chemicals currently used in the food, detergent and waste…
Updated 14th Jul 2005

As a Fellow, el-Nashar received up to £40,000, consisting "...of a £15,000 research grant and a £15,000 commercial support grant, plus an optional £10,000 interest free loan from HSBC bank repayable from year two. The funds are managed jointly by the scheme managers and by the Fellow, and are drawn down as agreed milestones are met."

Depending upon how stringent the accounting for the funds were, it's possible that el-Nashar financed the attacks with money from his stipend as a Fellow. Certainly the equivalent of $60-80,000 made things a bit easier for el-Nashar.