Accused charged with attempted murder
A British man accused of a terror attack after driving into a barrier protecting the Houses of Parliament faces investigation for attempted murder, police said yesterday.
Three people were injured when the 29-year-old, named by media as Salih Khater, drove over a pavement and into cyclists before crashing into the barrier on Tuesday morning.
Police said the man, a British national originally from Sudan, was initially arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences but revealed he had been "further arrested for attempted murder".
Two of the injured victims -- a man and a woman -- were taken to hospital but have now been discharged. The third was treated at the scene.
The incident had disturbing parallels with an attack last year, when a man drove his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge killing 5 people.
The Times reported that Khater worked as a shop manager in Birmingham.
Abubakr Ibrahim, a childhood friend, told the paper: "He is not a terrorist. I have known him since childhood. He is a good man."
He said Khater had moved to Britain about five years ago in order to earn money to help his family. The Daily Mail tabloid reported friends of Khater saying that his father and brother had recently died within months of each other.
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