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Egyptian police arrest bio-chemist sought in London probe | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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CAIRO (AP)- Police on Friday arrested an Egyptian biochemist sought in the probe into the London bombings, a government official said.

Magdy el-Nashar, 33, was arrested in Cairo early Friday,the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement of the information had not yet been made. El-Nashar was being interrogated by Egyptian authorities, the official said.

Metropolitan Police in London said a man has been arrested in Cairo, but would not confirm his name or characterize him as a suspect. The British Embassy in Cairo said it had not comment beyond the Metropolitan Police statement.

The Egyptian official did not give further details on the arrest.

British and FBI officials were looking for el-Nashar, who recently had been teaching chemistry at Leeds University, north of London.

The Times of London said el-Nashar was thought to have rented one of the homes police searched in Leeds in a series of raids on Tuesday.Neighbors reported el-Nashar recently left Britain, saying he had a visa problem, the newspaper said.

Leeds University said el-Nashar arrived in October 2000 to do biochemical research, sponsored by the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt. It said he earned a doctorate on May 6.

FBI agents in Raleigh, North Carolina, joined the search for el-Nashar, who was formerly a North Carolina State University graduate student.

University spokesman Keith Nichols said a person named el-Nashar studied at North Carolina State as a graduate student in chemical engineering for a semester beginning in January 2000. Nichols said the school has gathered records in anticipation of being contacted by the FBI.