Britain Detains 8 Suspected of Terror Plots
SARAH LYALL / NY Times | May 25 2006
Eight people suspected of plotting terrorist attacks
abroad were detained today after an elaborate series of raids involving
500 police officers from five forces across England, the authorities said.
The eight were held under various government powers,
the authorities said, including anti-terrorism legislation and immigration
laws that allow the home secretary to deport foreign nationals "whose
presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good for reasons of
national security."
In Manchester, Chief Constable Michael Todd of the
Greater Manchester Police described the raids as "a major anti-terrorist
operation" that had been organized over many months in conjunction
with MI5, the domestic security agency. The detainees were not planning
attacks in Britain, he said.
"We are not talking today about a direct threat
to the U.K.," he said. "We are talking about the facilitation
of terrorism overseas. That could include funding, providing support and
encouragement to terrorists."
He added: "This is an intelligence-led operation.
We have been gathering intelligence, together with our security service
colleagues, for at least a year, looking at the funding and support of terrorist
activities overseas."
The government of Prime Minister Tony Blair has been
under increasing pressure over its intelligence and immigration lapses,
particularly after last summer's failure to prevent the bombings in London's
subways and buses. This months, the home office admitted that it had lost
track of hundreds of foreigners who had served prison terms and were supposed
to have been considered for deportation, but who had instead been released.
In Manchester, three people were being held under anti-terrorism
laws, and three under immigration laws, the police said. Two others —
one in Liverpool and one in London — were being held under immigration
laws, they said.
The BBC reported that the people detained today were
possibly suspected of planning attacks in Iraq and said that they were believed
to be linked to a group called the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. The authorities
refused to comment or give further details.
Prison
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