UK riots: 3 Asians killed in Birmingham

London, Aug 10: Three British Asians who were on the streets of Birmingham to protect their community from rioting groups, were killed when a speeding car mowed them down last night, making them the latest victims of the ongoing unrest in Britain.

The police are treating the deaths as murder. As in London, vigilante groups have taken over some areas in Birmingham. The three Asians killed have been identified as two brothers, Shahzad and Harry Hussain and their friend Musaver Ali.

The three had emerged from a mosque and were on the streets protecting their car wash company after the previous night's violence when the incident happened, reports from Birmingham said.

Kabir Khan Isakhel, a relative of one of the dead brothers told Sky News that two cars had approached at high speed and struck the three.

A police spokesman said: "They were not in the way or blocking the road. The car swerved towards them. They went flying up in the air".

Murray McGregor, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), said members of the public were attempting resuscitation on the men when the ambulance arrived, but that it quickly became apparent they had all suffered ''significant injuries''.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Detectives investigating the death of three men following a road traffic collision in Birmingham this morning will today question a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder".

The three men were aged 31, 30 and 20.

"It's understood the three -- were on foot in Dudley Road in the Winson Green area of the city when they were in collision with a car. All later died from their injuries in hospital," the police spokesman said.

"Officers arrested the man nearby and also recovered a vehicle which will be examined by forensics experts".

The three were taken to Birmingham City Hospital, where a large crowd gathered this morning at around 5.45 am and police in riot gear stood guard at the main entrance.

The ambulance service said two of the men were pronounced dead soon after arriving at hospital, while a third died later in hospital shortly before 7 am this morning (local time).

PTI