July 21 bomb suspects also linked to Pakistan

July 21 bomb suspects also linked to Pakistan

Alleged leader believed to have visited at same time as July 7 bombers

LONDON -

NBC News has learned that authorities have new information suggesting the second set of accused London bombers may also be linked to Pakistan.

According to Western counterterrorism officials, authorities now think the apparent leader of the July 21 bombing suspects traveled to Pakistan late last year.

Muktar Said Ibrahim obtained a British passport last fall. Officials say that in December he traveled from Britain to Saudi Arabia, then on to Pakistan.

“It raises the possibility that they were involved with Pakistani jihadists and possibly even with al-Qaida itself,” says terrorism analyst Dan Benjamin.

That would put Ibrahim in Pakistan at the same time as two of the July 7 bombers, who were seen arriving in Karachi in November.