Tenth suspect arrested in soldier slaying case

LONDON (AP):

British police arrested a 10th suspect yesterday in connection with the vicious street killing of a soldier in London, an apparent Islamic extremist attack that has horrified the country and heightened racial tensions.

The 50-year-old man was detained in Welling, east of London, on suspicion of conspiring to murder 25-year-old soldier Lee Rugby, Scotland Yard said. Police gave no further information about the suspect's identity.

The latest arrest came as more details trickled out about the background of Michael Adebolajo, 28, one of the two main British suspects in Wednesday's slaying. He and Adebowale, 22, were shot and wounded by police at the scene.

ATTACKED

Rigby, an off-duty soldier who had served in Afghanistan, was run over by a vehicle and repeatedly attacked with meat cleavers Wednesday afternoon near his barracks in southeast London.

British officials say the two main suspects had been known to them for some time, but revelations that Adebolajo had been arrested in Kenya in 2010, and claims that British security officials had tried to recruit him as an informer after that, have fuelled questions about whether UK authorities could have done more to prevent last week's killing.

Adebolajo and Adebowale remain under armed guard in separate London hospitals. Four other men and the suspect arrested yesterday remain in custody at a London police station, while one other man has been released on bail. Two women were released without charge in the case.

Yesterday, a London-based rights group that lobbies on behalf of suspected terrorists said Adebolajo and his family had contacted it about six months ago complaining about harassment from Britain's MI5 domestic spy service. A case worker who spoke with him said he appeared "paranoid and erratic," the group said.