An armed man who died after taking hostages at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday, demanding the release of a convicted murderer dubbed as 'Lady Al-Qaeda' from a United States (US) prison, was identified by the FBI on Sunday, 16 January, as a 44-year-old British citizen named Malik Faisal Akram.
The FBI's field office in Dallas had earlier said there was "no indication" that anyone else was involved in the attack on the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. News Agency AFP reported that hours later, on Sunday, the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement, "Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester this evening. They remain in custody."
Local rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, one of the hostages who was released unharmed on Saturday, was quoted as saying by AFP, "There is no question that this was a traumatic experience."
He added, "We are resilient and we will recover."
While no further information or the possible motive of the attacker is given by the FBI, a man identifying himself as Akram's brother, Gulbar, said in a Facebook post, "We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident."
He added that Akram’s family hoped to get Akram's body back to Britain for a funeral.
Calling it an "act of terror," US President Joe Biden was reported as saying that the case was related to "someone who was arrested 15 years ago and has been in jail for 10 years." He was speaking to reporters during a visit to a hunger relief organisation in Philadelphia.
After the 10-hour hostage situation came to an end, Governor Greg Abbott said in a tweet, "Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe."
Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Minister Liz Truss condemned the incident as an "act of terrorism and anti-Semitism."
(With inputs from AFP.)
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