U.K. Police Arrest Eight in a major raid of terrorists
MIL/Agencies, Jan 31, 2007.
January 31, 2007 - U.K. police have arrested eight people on suspicion of terrorism offenses in raids in Birmingham. It was a major operation that involved sealing off streets in the city, about 100 miles north west of London.
The alleged plot involved kidnapping a member of the public, beheading them and posting a video on the internet rather than a bomb attack, Sky News reported, citing unidentified people as per Nick Allen.
The suspects were held at 4 a.m. in raids at properties in Stratford and Poplar roads, situated in Sparkhill, an inner-city area with an ethnic minority population of 66 percent.
``A major counter-terrorism operation took place today, the home secretary has been fully briefed on the operation and is receiving regular updates as developments occur,'' Home Office spokesman Stuart Green said by telephone of the briefing given to John Reid. ``This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat.''
A series of high-profile counter-terrorism operations have been carried out by U.K. police since the first successful al- Qaeda inspired attack in the country on July 7, 2005, when four British Muslims blew themselves up on London's transport network killing 52 people.
The trial of six men accused of trying to launch a similar attack on the city's transport system on July 21, 2005, is currently underway in London.
Full Story:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aOs8aUFN4_hA&refer=uk
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