British police are now questioning eight people in their hunt for members of a suspected al-Qaeda cell which rammed a fuel-packed SUV into Glasgow airport and left two car bombs in London.
Two of those arrested were confirmed to be doctors, one of whom qualified in Iraq and the other in Jordan.
The Iraqi-trained doctor was named by police sources as Bilal Abdulla and the Jordanian-trained doctor as Mohammed Asha. Dr Asha's wife has also been arrested.
Mohammed Asha
The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, outside Glasgow where the airport was targeted on Saturday, confirmed Dr Abdulla had worked at the hospital as a doctor.
Housing blocks at the hospital were cordoned off by police and what were believed to be controlled detonations were carried out in the area as authorities stayed on high alert.
Fearing further attacks, police banned cars and other vehicles from directly approaching airports and security measures were stepped up across the country as authorities kept the threat level at "critical", the highest rating.
An eighth suspect connected to the plot was arrested today, British police said. "A man was arrested at an undisclosed location in connection with the investigation into the incidents in London and Glasgow," the police said in a statement. The BBC reported that the man was arrested overseas, but did not say in which country.
Two men, one 25 and one 28, who were not believed to be of Scottish origin, were arrested in Paisley last night.
."This continues to be a fast-moving investigation," said Assistant Chief Constable John Malcolm of Strathcylde police in Scotland. "I would continue to urge people to be vigilant."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Britain was facing a "serious and sustained threat of terrorism" and urged the public to remain on alert. Addressing parliament today, she praised the security services for their quick work in rounding up suspects but said a threat remained.
A police source said the investigation was going very well and they expected to make more arrests. The source said the plot bore "all the hallmarks" of al-Qaeda and there had been no warning of the attack on Glasgow airport.
That attack, and the car bombs left in London on Friday, pose a tough test for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who last week replaced Tony Blair. In 2005, Britain was the first country in Western Europe to be hit by Islamist suicide bombers and since then several plots have been foiled.
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| Forensic officers examine gas canisters next to the vehicle that rammed into the departure entrance of Glasgow airport on Saturday |
Mr Blair was known for an aggressive stance on security and a foreign policy which strongly supported the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq. The home-grown bombers who struck London transport two years ago, killing 52 commuters, said in videos they were punishing Britain for Mr Blair's policies.
On Saturday, police arrested the passenger and badly-burned driver of a Jeep Cherokee who had rammed the vehicle into the entrance of Glasgow's airport, causing a huge fireball.
The attack came 36 hours after police in London defused two Mercedes car bombs packed with fuel canisters, propane tanks and nails, parked in the heart of the capital's bustling theatre and nightclub district.
The other arrests included a 26-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman seized on the M6 motorway in northern England on Saturday, and a 26-year-old man in Liverpool yesterday. All three were taken to London for questioning and police were given permission to hold them until July 7th.