London Tube attack suspects were foster children, officials say

Anti-terror police in the UK are continuing to question two suspects arrested over the weekend on suspicion of attempting to blow up a London Underground train during rush hour on Friday morning.

An 18-year-old man and a 21-year-old were arrested separately by police on Saturday and searches are under way at two addresses on the outskirts of London, according to UK police.

Both men had been fostered by the same elderly couple, and at least one was a refugee from Iraq, local officials told CNN Monday.

The 18-year-old was arrested by police in the departure lounge of Dover ferry port, which is the busiest ferry hub in Europe and a gateway to the French coast, the police said Saturday.

The second man was picked up by police at a fast food takeaway, Aladdin's, in East Hounslow, a west London suburb on the way to Heathrow Airport, at around 11:50 pm on Saturday night, police confirmed.

A local shopkeeper, who didn't want to be named, said the 21-year-old "came here shopping every once in while. He just bought milk and soft drinks, he was just a regular folk, and that's all I know".

Local council leader Ian Harvey told CNN the 18-year-old suspect was fostered by an elderly couple, Ronald and Penelope Jones, and was living with them at the time of the attack on Friday.

He said local residents had told him the teen was an Iraqi asylum seeker who had come to the United Kingdom three years ago after his parents were killed in Iraq. Harvey described the teenager as unhappy.

A local official said the second suspect had also been fostered by the Joneses. That source asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the information.

(CNN)