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September 2, 2006

UK: Fourteen Suspects Arrested In New Muslim Terror Raids

News from Reuters and the BBC states that in raids which took place overnight in south, north and east London, 14 people have been arrested. 12 of the arrests took place a "Chinese halal" restaurant in Borough, south of the Thames. Arrested on suspicion of "the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism", the individuals are being held at a central London police statement. This is almost certainly Paddington Green police station, the high-security establishment where most terror suspects are processed.

The police stated that the 14 men were arrested following a "pre-planned, intelligence-led operation". The individuals are not connected to Operation Overt, the plot which was announced on August 10, which involved plans to blow up at least nine US-bound planes. 11 people have now been officially charged in connection with that particular operation, on counts of conspiracy to murder and planning acts of terrorism. The Home Office terror alert level was then set at "critical". It is now set as "severe", the second-highest alert level.

Last night's raids have been followed up by intensive searches at addresses in south, east and north London.40 police descended upon the restaurant in Borough at around 10 pm, to the shock of customers who were having meals. After being initially questioned, 12 men were escorted away, some in handcuffs.

The owner of the restaurant, Madi Blyani, said: "They suddenly came inside because they were suspicious of some of the customers, and they talked to them. They talked to them (for) more than one hour, two hours. And they arrested some of them. So it was obviously surprising for me, my staff, for everyone anyway."

Two other individuals were arrested in other London locations, and additionally, two people were arrested in terror raids in Greater Manchester. Three addresses in Cheetham Hill are currently being searched. These two individuals were said by a spokesman not to have been involved with those apprehended in the capital.

According to Gordon Corera of the BBC, the London arrests were connected with allegations of terror "training camps" within the UK. He said: "My understanding at this point is that this possibly involves people involved in training camps, possibly within the UK, and people who were facilitating some kind of training in the UK which might have allowed others to take part in terrorist activity."

Last night, Scotland Yard's head of counter-terrorism, Peter Clarke, said to the BBC that UK police are currently keeping tabs on "thousands" of potential terrorists. "Not just terrorists not just attackers but the people who might be tempted to support or encourage," he claimed.

"I don't want to go down the numbers game, I don't think it's helpful. All I can say is that our knowledge is increasing and certainly in terms of broad description, the numbers of people who we have to be interested in are into the thousands."

His comments feature in a documentary to be broadcast on BBC2 tomorrow night on BBC 2, entitled "Al Qaeda - Time to Talk?" It will be aired at 9 pm British Summer Time.

UPDATE: According to Ananova News, in connection with the fourteen arrests police are now searching a location at Mark's Cross, East Sussex, believed to be an Islamic school near Crowborough.

UPDATE2: Town Hall states that the owner of the restaurant in Borough, Mehdi Belyani, is a 40-year old Iranian. He claimed that around 15 men and two small boys had come into the restaurant. They were aged 25-35, and some had been wearing Islamic dress.

More details on the school that was searched have come from the Press Association via the Guardian, and from the BBC. The school is the Jameah Islameah, a former convent that has more than 100 rooms.

The school was set up in September 2003, to provide Islamic education for boys aged 11 to 16. An inspection was made by school auditing body Ofsted in December 2005, when only nine boys were found to be registered. Fees per annum for the school are £900 per pupil ($1,714). The Ofsted report found the Jameah Islameah had a "significant number of major weaknesses. The curriculum is not broad and balanced", and though its standard of education had somewhat improved from earlier visits, it was still "unsatisfactory and prevents pupils making the progress of which they are capable." "Jameah Islameah School does not provide a satisfactory education for its pupils. It has not made sufficient progress towards fulfilling its aims since it was established."

The school also has a "retreat" facility, and one radical cleric, Abu Hamza, is said to have gone for a weekend sojourn at the school with some of his followers.

The school has a large rural site, which may suggest that it was the supposed location where individuals intended to run terror training, as suggested by Gordon Corera above. About 100 police officers were involved in the search at the school and its outhouses.

According to the Daily Mail a spokeswoman for Sussex Police stated that the search at the school was ongoing, and could take "days, possibly weeks". She said: "No arrests have been made. The people in the school have been very co-operative." She affirmed that no chemical protection suits were worn by offices involved in the search.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 2, 2006 4:44 AM

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Posted by: Dinah Lord at September 2, 2006 10:05 AM

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