British police investigating a suspected plot to blow up transatlantic airliners freed two suspects last night and obtained permission to continue questioning nine others.
Police charged 11 people in the suspected plot and had been holding 11 others pending a decision on whether to charge them.
They did not name the men they freed yesterday, but Sky News reported that one was Tayib Rauf of Birmingham. His brother, Rashid Rauf, has been arrested in Pakistan, where authorities called him a ringleader of the plot.
Police later said they had obtained a judge's permission to continue questioning eight of the additional suspects for a further week, and one for just 24 more hours.
Under new anti-terrorism powers that came into force last month, police can hold suspects without charge for up to 28 days but must seek a judge's permission every seven days.
British police announced on August 10th they had thwarted the plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic by smuggling liquid explosives onto flights, after overnight raids in Birmingham, London and a town west of the capital.
Those charged on Tuesday include eight British Muslims accused of conspiracy to murder, a 17-year-old accused of having items useful to terrorists and two others, including the only woman still held, who are accused of failing to report the plot.