British Police Confirm First Credible Sighting of Escaped Terror Suspect

London’s Metropolitan Police on Friday reported the first confirmed sighting of a terror suspect who escaped Wednesday from a London medium-security prison and is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt. 

A former British soldier, 21-year-old Daniel Abed Khalife, is believed to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth by leaving the prison kitchen, where he was working, and fastening himself to the bottom of a food delivery van. 

In a release, the Metropolitan Police said they received information from a member of the public who said they saw a man fitting Khalife’s description walking away from a food delivery van that had stopped not far from the prison shortly after his escape. The man was then seen walking toward Wandsworth town center.

London police also confirmed Friday they were carrying out an extensive search of Richmond Park in London’s southwest. The search included 150 officers, The Independent newspaper reports, quoting Metropolitan Pollice Commissioner Mark Rowl.

Discharged from the British army in May, Khalife was awaiting trial on offenses related to terrorism and violations of the Official Secrets Act. He is accused of planting fake bombs at an army base in England and, the BBC reported, collecting sensitive personal information about soldiers from a British Defense Ministry database. 

He is also charged with obtaining information that might be “directly or indirectly useful to an enemy.” The BBC reported that enemy was Iran. Khalife has denied the charges.

British Justice Minister Alex Chalk briefed Parliament on the escape Thursday and promised an immediate investigation into the prison’s protocols and the decision about where Khalife was held. He said a second independent investigation will take place at a later date.

“No stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened,” Chalk said.

Some information in this report was provided by Reuters and The Associated Press. 
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