N9V TV
Two men have been arrested as part of the investigation into a hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue in the US.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was shot dead by police on Saturday after taking prisoners for 10 hours at the place of worship in Colleyville.
On Wednesday, authorities said two teenagers arrested in the UK on Tuesday night had been released without charge. But on Thursday, January 20, counterterrorism police said two men were arrested this morning in Birmingham and Manchester.
“Two men have been arrested this morning in Birmingham and Manchester,” counter terrorism police said.
The suspects were held on Thursday morning in Manchester and Birmingham, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
The men, whose ages have not been released, are “in custody for questioning” and were held as part of an “ongoing investigation”, GMP added.
The daylong siege at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, about 16 miles northeast of Fort Worth, Texas, ended in gunfire on Saturday night with all four hostages released unharmed and the death of the suspect.
An FBI team stormed the building and shot Akram dead, while all four hostages were released unharmed.
President Joe Biden called the incident an ‘act of terror’ and revealed Akram allegedly got his weapons ‘on the street’ after landing in the US.
He said: ‘I don’t have all the facts, nor does the attorney general – but allegedly the assertion was he got the weapons on the street.
‘He purchased them when he landed and it turns out there apparently were no bombs that we know of.
‘Apparently, he spent the first night in a homeless shelter. I don’t have all the details yet so I’m reluctant to go into much more detail.’
US officials believe Akram had a visa, arrived at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York around two weeks ago.
The attack was launched at 11am as the synagogue was live-streaming its Sabbath service on Facebook.
Before the stream was cut off at 2pm, Akram could be heard demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist jailed for terror charges in FMC Carswell in Fort Worth. He said he wanted to speak to Aafia Siddiqui, who was handed an 86 year sentence in 2010 for trying to kill US army officers in Afghanistan.
Akram’s family has said they had been left ‘absolutely devastated’ by the weekend’s events and ‘do not condone any of his actions, ’ according to a statement that has been shared on the Blackburn Muslim Community Facebook page.
Condemning the event, the statement from Akram’s family said: ‘We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologise wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident.’
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