12 Arrested in UK Anti-Terror Raid
The Guardian reports:
Counter-terrorism detectives today arrested 12 people amid fears of a Christmas bombing attack in the UK.
The men, aged between 17 and 28, were held in Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Stoke-on-Trent on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK, police said.
Searches at several properties began after the arrests, with detectives and forensic experts looking for any scientific evidence of materials that could be used to make explosives.
The counter-terrorism operation targeting some of those arrested had been under way for some time, and is described as "significant". At least some of those arrested are believed to have been under surveillance.
The raids were launched "to take action in order to ensure public safety", the country's leading anti-terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, of the Metropolitan police, said.
"This is a large-scale, pre-planned and intelligence-led operation involving several forces," Yates said. "The operation is in its early stages, so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the suspected offences."
The home secretary, Theresa May, said: "I have been kept fully informed about the police operation that has resulted in 12 arrests. For obvious reasons it is not appropriate for me to comment further at this early stage of what could be a complex and lengthy investigation."
"We know we face a real and serious threat from terrorism and I would like to thank the police and security service for working to keep our country safe."
The closeness of Christmas appears to have been a factor, but it is not clear whether investigators were nervous because of any specific intelligence that an attack was imminent, or whether the "landmark" date made them anxious.
Last year, al-Qaida attempted a Christmas day attack on a plane travelling to Detroit in the US.
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