Anti-terrorist police arrest six men in Birmingham

West Midlands police question suspects over alleged plot to carry out act of terrorism Six men have been arrested in Birmingham as part of a large intelligence-led counter-terrorism operation, police said on Monday morning. The men were detained at or near their homes overnight on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK. A spokeswoman for West Midlands police said the men, aged between 25 and 32, were taken into custody by unarmed officers in the Moseley, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Ward End and Balsall Heath areas of Birmingham between 11.30pm on Sunday and 1am on Monday. The spokeswoman also confirmed that a 22-year-old woman from Saltley, Birmingham, had been arrested at 6.30am on suspicion of failing to disclose information contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000. The suspects are being held for questioning at an unnamed police station in the West Midlands police area, the spokeswoman added, and specialist police teams are now searching their homes and seven other properties in Birmingham. In a brief statement, West Midlands police’s assistant chief constable for security, Marcus Beale, said: “The operation is in its early stages so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the nature of the suspected offences. “However, I believe it was necessary to take action at this time in order to ensure public safety.” The nature of the suspected offences has not been disclosed but there has been a heavy police presence in the city due to the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference taking place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre. UK security and terrorism Birmingham guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 19, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.