British police charge 2 in killings during London riots

LONDON -- A man and teenager were charged Saturday with the murder of three men in a hit-and-run attack during riots in the English city of Birmingham, the deadliest attack during the past week's street unrest in Britain.

Both males will be arraigned this morning at Birmingham Magistrates Court on three counts each of murder, police said.

Joshua Donald, 26, from a street gang stronghold in Birmingham was identified as the older suspect.

The 17-year-old suspect, who lives in the same district as the three dead men, was not identified because of his juvenile status.

The breakthrough follows an intensive investigation by a team of 70 detectives into Wednesday's hit-and-run slaying of Haroon Jahan, 20, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31.

They were killed after a car, allegedly containing several looters, struck them at high speed as they stood guard in front of a row of Pakistani-owned shops.

The killings threatened to ignite clashes between the area's South Asian and black gangs, but the father of Haroon Jahan made a series of public statements pleading for racial harmony and no retaliation.