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| Britain |
| Four men arrested in terror raids |
| 2006-06-20 |
| Four men have been arrested in London under anti-terror laws as part of a major investigation into alleged international terrorism, say police. The arrests are part of an operation linked to the arrest of a man at Manchester airport on 6 June. One man, 28, was arrested on Tuesday in south-east London and three men, aged 29 and two aged 21, on Monday evening in east London. They are in custody at a central London police station. All four British citizens were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000. Police are trying to establish whether they were giving support to an alleged al-Qaeda cell in Canada Margaret Gilmore, BBC home affairs correspondent, said the arrested men were being held at Paddington Green police station in west London. "Police are trying to establish whether they [the arrested men] were giving support to an alleged al-Qaeda cell in Canada. The operation leading to their arrests involved West Yorkshire Police, MI5 and Scotland Yard," our correspondent said. She said the arrests were not linked to the Forest Gate raid in east London or the 7 July attacks last year. Three of the four men were arrested in Hackney, east London at about 2200 BST on Monday evening. The fourth man was arrested in south-east London at 1500 BST on Tuesday afternoon. Scotland Yard said the police operation did not involve firearms officers. They can be held for 14 days, after which they have to be charged or released. The arrests are linked to the investigation, led by West Yorkshire Police, in which a man and a youth were charged earlier this month with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause public nuisance by using poisons or explosives. Aabid Hussain Khan, 21, of West Yorkshire, was arrested at Manchester Airport in early June and later charged under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act. He appeared in court on 15 June and was remanded in custody by Bow Street magistrates until 30 June to appear at the Old Bailey. Khan appeared alongside a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who was charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance by use of poisons and/or explosives. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 I still wonder if the chemical vest tip was an intentional smokescreen. Given that it had the added advantage of making the Brits look bad, I have to say it was a successful one, if so. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-06-20 15:09 |