BRITAIN:Nine men were being held last night by police investigating an alleged terrorist plot to kidnap a member of the British armed forces, after a series of raids and arrests in Birmingham. Frank Millar, London Editor, reports.
Some reports quoted security sources saying the alleged plot was to conduct an Iraqi-style kidnapping of a serving Muslim soldier, who might then have been filmed, possibly tortured and ultimately executed.
However, the Ministry of Defence said it could not confirm or deny reports of such a plot, as home secretary John Reid urged restraint, while police stressed they were "at the foothills of what is a very, very major investigation". Leaders at the Alum Rock Islamic Centre, the main mosque in the area, urged calm and co-operation with the police investigation, while appealing for "no trial by media".
News of the arrests was greeted with a mixture of anger and cynicism by some members of the local Muslim community who noted that previous high-profile arrests had not always led to people being charged.
Meanwhile, one security expert said that any terror plot targeted against an individual would mark "a highly significant development" for Britain, while adding that it would also be "very unusual" in the context of paramilitary movements operating in the UK.
Eight men were arrested during yesterday's 4am raids at 12 addresses in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham and initially taken to a West Midlands police station. A number of those arrested were understood to be at a high-security police station in Coventry last night where, under the new anti-terror laws, they could be held without charge for up to 28 days.
Yesterday's raids were led by the recently formed Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit, working in conjunction with the West Midlands and Metropolitan Police and the Security Service, MI5, after what is believed to have been a six-month surveillance operation. The ninth man was arrested just minutes before a mid-afternoon police press conference, which assistant chief constable David Shaw said illustrated that this remained "a dynamic, fluid operation" that was "by no means finished".
Mr Shaw declined to give any details about the alleged plot, and said the search of the premises raided by police would take "some days" to complete.
And while the arrests had been the "culmination of many months of activity", he added: "I can only stress that we are right at the foothills of what is a very, very major investigation for us."
Appealing in particular for help from the local Muslim community, Mr Shaw said police considered it "critical that we involve them in what is going on as much as we can."
To that end thousands of leaflets were being distributed to local people while community advice lines were being set up in a range of languages.
Muslim community leader Shabir Hussain said the community should co-operate with the police and remain vigilant to any unusual activity in their homes.
The idea that a serving soldier might be kidnapped, possibly while on leave, and subject to an Iraqi-style execution, immediately revived memories of the fate of British hostages such as Kenneth Bigley.
Terror analyst Prof Paul Rogers said such a plot targeted against an individual in Britain would raise "the fear factor", and it would be crucial to establish whether the alleged planned abduction was an isolated one-off or part of a wider movement.