Reports: Jordanian-educated doctor held in UK terror probe

LONDON, England (CNN) -- One of the seven people arrested by British authorities investigating attempted terror attacks in Glasgow, Scotland, and London, England, is Dr. Mohammed Asha, a Jordanian-educated physician who moved to England with his family two years ago, according to British media reports and a source in Jordan.

Asha, 26, was picked up late Saturday on the M6 motorway in the northern English county of Cheshire in a dramatic raid, according to the British Press Association, citing police sources. Police have declined to formally identify any of the suspects.

The doctor is believed to work at the North Staffordshire Hospital, near the Midlands town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, where police searched a house on Sunday. The hospital refused comment.

Police have confirmed a 26-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested in the M6 raid. The Press Association reported that the woman is believed to be Asha's wife, who was wearing traditional Muslim dress at the time of her arrest.

He is the second doctor arrested in the raid. Another doctor, believed to have helped ram an explosives-laden vehicle into Glasgow's airport on Saturday, is in critical condition with severe burns at a hospital near Glasgow, sources said.

Asha, a Palestinian, did his residency in Jordan in 2004-2005 just before moving to England with his wife, a source in Jordan said.

In Jordan, Asha's brother Ahmed told The Associated Press he had heard the media reports and said his sibling "is not a Muslim extremist, and he's not a fanatic."

"I can't believe this," he said. "It's nonsense because he has no terror connections."

In an interview with CNN, the brother said the family has not heard from London or the British Embassy. The family is concerned about who is taking care of Asha's 2-year-old son since his parents' arrests, the brother said.

Ahmed added that his brother was not a religious person and was among the top students in his medical class on neurosurgery.

Asha studied at the Jubilee School in Amman, a very exclusive program for gifted children, the source said. Watch the latest on the investigation »

Asha is registered with the London-based general medical council that registers all doctors practicing in Britain.

According to the council's records, Asha was granted limited access to practice medicine in country based on a test that measured his written language skills and clinical competence. See photos of the investigation in action »

Asha's qualifications were from Jordan and he first was registered with the council on October 20, 2005, until April 2007. He registered again in May, and the new registration is set to expire in May 2008. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh contributed to this report.

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