More Terrorism Related Arrests In Britain

The BBC is reporting that more arrests have occurred in terrorism-relation police raids. There is no apparent link to the earlier arrests in the failed plot to blow up airplanes. Details are very sketchy at this hour, but there may be a link to terrorist training facilities as one of the locations raided was a school in a rural area.

Armed police have arrested 14 men following anti-terror raids in London, including 12 arrests at a restaurant in the Borough area.

Two people were held elsewhere in the city in what police said was an intelligence-led operation.

Police said the arrests were not connected to the alleged transatlantic jet bomb plot or the 7 July attacks

An Islamic school near Tunbridge Wells has also been searched as part of the same ongoing operation.

The Jameah Islameah property, on a road named Catt's Hill between Rotherfield and Mark Cross in Crowborough, East Sussex, is an Islamic teaching facility on a large rural site, for boys aged between 11 and 16.

According to its website the 54-acre premises also encourages Islamic groups to "appoint a person from your centre who wishes to serve the community and send them to us to be trained".

It also says these individuals will then become "qualified enough to teach in local Masajeds and Madares".

At the time of its last inspection, in December, the school only had nine pupils.

Eyewitness reports say the area has now been sealed off and that about 100 officers were at the scene.

Ongoing surveillance

The BBC's Keith Doyle said the south London restaurant where the 12 arrests were made was a halal Chinese called Bridge to China Town.

He said the raids came after: "months of surveillance into those suspected of recruiting or encouraging others to take part in terrorist activities".

The restaurant was full of people, including children, when around 40 police officers wearing riot gear raided it shortly after 10pm.

Diners were told they were being questioned under the Terrorism Act.

Each was asked to give their name and address, after which those arrested were taken away in handcuffs.

Police said the men were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Anti-terrorist officers also carried out raids on a number of addresses in other parts of London, with a search being carried out at an address in the north of the capital.

Britain has an obvious problem right now. I'll try to find more detail on what exactly is going on and will either update here or add new posts as news breaks.