British authorities have confirmed that a hostage-taking suspect who was shot dead after holding four people hostage at a Texas synagogue was a British citizen, media outlets in the UK reported on Sunday.

The US media, meanwhile, claimed that the FBI has identified the suspect as Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen.

Fox News said that FBI Dallas Field Office confirmed the identity in an email to Fox News Digital. “At this time, there is no indication that other individuals are involved,” it quoted the FBI as saying.

Earlier, US President Biden told reporters in Philadelphia that the suspect was arrested 15 years ago and was jailed for 10 years.

British media outlets have not named the suspect. Britain’s Sky News said that man did not live in the United States and had travelled to the country recently.

Sky News quoted a UK Foreign Office spokesperson as saying that they are “aware of the death of a British man in Texas and are in contact with the local authorities”

It also said that the Met Police’s counter-terrorism unit is “liaising with US authorities and colleagues from the FBI regarding the incident in Texas.”

Neither the U.S. nor the U.K. authorities have confirmed officially if the hostage-taker had indeed demanded the release of Pakistani neuroscientists Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who has been jailed in Texas federal prison for attacking the U.S. troops in Afghanistan. However, international media outlets have reported that in a live feed from the synagogue the suspect was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, whom he called his “sister.”

This led some news websites, especially from India, to claim that the suspect was Mohammad Siddiqui, Aafia Siddiqui’s real brother. But the claims soon proved to be false.

Aafia Siddiqui’s sister Fouzia Siddiqui, who is based in Karachi, told Independent Urdu that his brother was not involved in the hostage crisis. She said the claims were an example of “irresponsible” journalism.

After it was reported that the suspect had been killed and the hostages had been freed unharmed, Fouzia Siddiqui said, “Thank God, the hostage crisis is over.”

American Muslims have also condemned the siege in the small Texas town of Colleyville as an act of antisemitism.



from News – SAMAA https://ift.tt/3nye3OV
via IFTTT