Second Man Charged In Preacher Murder Probe

A second man has been charged by police investigating the murder of a Syrian-born preacher in north London.

Abdulhadi Arwani, 48, an outspoken critic of Syria's President Bashar Al Assad, was shot dead earlier this month.

His body was found in his car in Wembley on 7 April.

Scotland Yard said Khalid Rashad, 61, from Wembley, has been charged with possession of an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose.

He is also accused of possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.

Rashad has been remanded in custody to appear at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

It comes after Leslie Cooper, 36, from Brent in northwest London, appeared at the Old Bailey last week charged with Mr Arwani's murder.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command investigating the father-of-six's death have made two other arrests.

A 53-year-old woman arrested in Brent on 15 April on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism was released on Wednesday with no further action.

A 36-year-old man detained on 17 April on suspicion of conspiracy to murder was bailed to a date in early May.

Mr Arwani was an imam at the An Noor mosque in Acton, west London, between 2005 and 2011.

He is thought to have fled from Syria as a teenager in 1982 after surviving the Hama massacre.