UK - THIRTEEN ARRESTED IN TERROR RAIDS

BBC News UK ^ | 8/04/02 | Andika

[Andika]

UK - THIRTEEN ARRESTED IN TERROR RAIDS

[Andika]

Thirteen arrested in terror raids The Metropolitan Police said the men would be taken to a London police station Thirteen men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act after raids in London and three English counties. The arrests were made in north-west London, Hertfordshire, Luton in Bedfordshire and Blackburn, Lancashire. Police said the men, aged in their 20s and 30s, were suspected of involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Officers from the Met's Anti-Terrorist branch were backed by local forces in the "intelligence-led, pre-planned" operation. Eyewitness accounts A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the suspects would be brought to a central London police station for questioning. Officers are continuing to search "residential premises" in London and the three counties where the arrests were made. The police spokesman said they were expected to remain at the sites for some time. Eyewitnesses in Blackburn told the BBC they had seen the arrests of two young men. As I got out of my door a policeman told me to get back inside Blackburn resident Ruth Lazell Ruth Lazell said she had been alerted by the sounds of voices in the street outside her Preston Old Road home. She said: "I heard a man shouting and went outside to see what was going on. As I got out of my door a policeman told me to get back inside." Mrs Lazell said she had seen armed officers force one man to the floor and pull a second from a car, handcuffing him on the ground. Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, told BBC News Online she had seen a number of officers, some in flak jackets and others in plain clothes. She said the men had been dressed by police in white paper suits and their hands and feet covered with plastic bags before they were driven away. Resident Pearl Bernasconi told the BBC she had seen forensic officers pore over the car from which the suspects were pulled. Several nearby roads were closed while investigations were carried out.

[ko_kyi]

Sheesh, must have been a pile of info on that Somali guy's laptop. Doesn't this make like 30 arrests in 2 days?

[Andika]

The majority of these arrests took place in commuting areas of London (Luton in particular) and in the North-West of England where there is a substantial Muslim population.
On of the reporters adding details to the main news bulletin said that the arrests would cause unrest in the Muslim population.
Why should they feel the arrests entitled them to cause "unrest"? Don't they wish wholeheartedly that people suspected of planning mayhem and the murder of innocent people should be checked out? It's unfortunate but true that the perpetrators of these atrocities happen to belong to their religion. Rather than feel "affronted" they should be fully understanding why suspicion should be concentrated on their population.

[Andika]

The Police have since said that the arrests were the culmination of a series of investigations that had been continuing "for some time". I suppose we must take their word for that.

[Grampa Dave]

"On of the reporters adding details to the main news bulletin said that the arrests would cause unrest in the Muslim population."

When all of the friends, buddies and mullahs of these Islamofascists are interviewed by MI5 and a thorough background check is made on each, they might be very unrested.

[Grampa Dave]

Now you need to lurk on this thread since the other was zotted.

[Madame Dufarge]

She said the men had been dressed by police in white paper suits

One of the perps.

[Grampa Dave]

fyi

Sounds like some happy hunting and roundup time in your part of the world.

[Southack]

No doubt that al qaeda is bumping operations under the "use it or lose it" theory now...as well as scrambling to regain communications after we took down their com net in Pakistan.

Both of those things should lead to more of their arrests, missteps, and imminent terrorist deaths.

5 Legislative Days Left Until The AWB Expires

[Dog]

This makes about 30 arrests we know of.....plus the hammering they took on the Afghan border with 40 to 50 dead.....AQ is getting creamed.

[tomahawk]

They should arrest and deport 30,000 Jihadists in their midst, not just 30.

[Mo1]

.

[tiki]

I was noticing that. It's like a pyramid and each one knows a few more and has a little different knowledge. With luck they'll get 60 next week.

[Straight Vermonter]

UK news ping

[BagCamAddict]

She said the men had been dressed by police in white paper suits and their hands and feet covered with plastic bags before they were driven away.

Ahem. for those that didn't catch it, this means bio or chem-related.

[aculeus]

Update:

Thirteen held in anti-terror raids

Thirteen men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 after raids in London and three English counties.
The arrests were made in north-west London, Hertfordshire, Luton in Bedfordshire and Blackburn, Lancashire.

Police said the men, aged in their 20s and 30s, were suspected of involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The Metropolitan Police said the men were all of Asian origin but it was not known how many were British citizens.

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Today's operation is part of continuing and extensive inquiries by police and the security service into alleged international terrorism
Metropolitan Police statement

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In a statement, the Met said the raids were part of a "pre-planned, on-going, intelligence-led operation".
A police spokesman said the suspects would be brought to a central London police station for questioning.

Officers are continuing to search "residential premises" in London, Luton, Blackburn and Bushey, Hertfordshire.

The statement said: "Today's operation is part of continuing and extensive inquiries by police and the security service into alleged international terrorism."

Heightened readiness

The searches are expected to take some time to complete.

The raids come as Prime Minister Tony Blair faced pressure to spell out the level of the terrorism threat in the UK following a heightened alert in parts of the US.

The Home Office has said no specific threat has been uncovered, saying: "We are maintaining a state of heightened readiness in the UK."

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The timing is very worrying and it is extremely annoying, especially when it actually affects the lives of ordinary people and they are suffering
Massoud Shadjareh

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Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the group was "extremely concerned" about the timing of the raids just after the alert status was raised in the US.

The raids also come the day before the parliamentary human rights group publishes a report "which is critical of the Terrorism Act" and the treatment of those held under it, he said.

"The timing is very worrying and it is extremely annoying, especially when it actually affects the lives of ordinary people and they are suffering," said Mr Shadjareh.

"It is increasing Islamophobia."

Eyewitnesses in Blackburn told the BBC they had seen the arrests of two young men.

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As I got out of my door a policeman told me to get back inside
Blackburn resident Ruth Lazell

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Ruth Lazell said she had been alerted by the sounds of voices in the street outside her Preston Old Road home.

She said: "I heard a man shouting and went outside to see what was going on. As I got out of my door a policeman told me to get back inside."

Resident Pearl Bernasconi told the BBC she had seen forensic officers pore over the gold Mercedes car from which the suspects were pulled.

Several nearby roads were closed while investigations were carried out.

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Did you see any of the raids? Send us your comments using the form below.

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/3533488.stm

Published: 2004/08/03 22:44:35 GMT

[johnfrink]

Could just be because they want to preserve explosives residue on their hands and feet, too.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Must of been that keyword.

[Dog Gone]

"It is increasing Islamophobia."

Nope, muslims plotting to kill us are fueling Islamaphobia.

[Grampa Dave]

NC