Police Identify Suspect Behind Westminster Attack
UK Police have identified the man that crashed a barrier protecting the Houses of Parliament in a suspected terror attack as a Briton of Sudanese origin from Birmingham.
The 29-year-old identified as Salih Khater, was arrested at the scene on Tuesday.
Top police counter-terrorism officer Neil Basu said on Wednesday that the suspect was not known to intelligence agencies, but The Times reported he was known to police.
It was gathered that Khater is a shop manager in Birmingham and had studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology, citing his Facebook page.
Abubakr Ibrahim, a childhood friend to the suspect, told repoerters that Salih is not a terrorist.
He said Khater was the son of sorghum farmers and had moved to Britain about five years ago in order to earn money to help his family.
The member of parliament for the Hall Green area of Birmingham, Roger Godsiff, tweeted that the suspect was believed to have been from his area.
Police also said on Tuesday they were carrying out searches at two addresses in the city, as well as an address in nearby Nottingham.
