Australian Doc Among 3 Latest Arrests

An armed police officer patrols in Whitehall, central London, Sunday, July 1, 2007. Britain has moved to the highest level of terror alert, 'critical', after two car bombs were defused in the capital on Friday, and a suspected terrorist attack on Glasgow airport on Saturday. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson) (Simon Dawson - AP)

LONDON -- At least three physicians were identified Monday among suspects arrested in Britain's failed car bomb attacks, and authorities announced three new arrests _ including a doctor in Australia _ as the investigation spread overseas.

British media reports said at least five of the detainees in Britain were physicians. British police confirmed a Palestinian doctor and Iraqi physician were among those held, while Australian officials said an Indian doctor working there had been detained in the case.

Officers used heightened stop-and-search powers and armed response vehicles to hunt for anyone else who might have been involved in the plot, and police put on a show of force to bolster security at airports and train stations and on city streets.

Hours after police announced the arrests of two more people in the Glasgow area, officials said an eighth suspect was detained "abroad by local authorities" Monday.

Australian authorities later said he was arrested at the airport in the eastern city of Brisbane while trying to leave the country.

"The first person taken into custody is an Indian national who came to Australia sponsored by the Queensland (state) health department," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters.

Howard also said that a second doctor was being interviewed in relation to information given to counterterror authorities by the first.

A British security official said earlier in the day that Pakistan and several other nations were asked to check possible links with the suspects. British-born terrorists behind the bloody 2005 London transit bombings and others in thwarted plots here were linked to terror training camps and foreign radicals in Pakistan.

"We have asked partners overseas to check possible links and that work has begun," the security official said, adding that it was still possible some British-born people were involved in the plot. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

Authorities said police searched at least 19 locations as part of the "fast-moving investigation," which has come at a time of already high vigilance before the anniversary of the suicide bombings in London that killed 52 people on July 7, 2005.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has said the group behind the weekend attacks was "associated with al-Qaida," got a call from President Bush commending him for Britain's response.

"President Bush concluded by reiterating that the United States is prepared to offer any assistance desired, and noted the importance of continued cooperation," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House's National Security Council.