Emergency surgery for bomb suspect

Published on Saturday 24 May 2008 20:17

A CONVERT to Islam suspected of carrying a bomb which partially exploded in a city-centre restaurant and left him covered in blood was last night in a stable condition in hospital.

The man, named by police as Nicky Reilly, 22, suffered eye and facial injuries in the blast, at the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter's 230m Princesshay centre on Thursday lunchtime.

Reilly, from King Street, Plymouth, has been in the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter since his arrest at the scene . "He has not been formally interviewed," said a police spokesman. It is understood that Reilly – 6ft 1in tall and 18 stone – has had an operation believed to have involved skin grafts.

Police are still questioning two men seized outside a caf in Plymouth at lunchtime yesterday. One was arrested when 10 armed officers descended on the caf; the another was detained to help with inquiries. Witnesses said they were put into paper suits and taken away in unmarked cars.

Had it ignited, the Giraffe restaurant bomb would have released a giant fireball. The device, made from sodium hydroxide and paraffin and packed with nails, was designed to detonate when shaken, sources said.

Reilly emerged from the restaurant "covered in blood" when the bomb failed to go off. Two other devices were found nearby.

He had received a text message of encouragement before he left on the failed mission, sources revealed.

The volatile explosive was transported on the X38 bus from Plymouth with more than 50 passengers on board, arriving in Exeter just after midday Thursday.

Police believe extremists took advantage of Reilly's low IQ and history of mental illness to radicalise him.

He had changed his name to Mohammed Rasheed, and neighbours said he had a screen saver of the Twin Towers in flames on 9/11 on his home computer.