NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, March 30, 2004

The arrests in and near London were "a timely reminder that the [United Kingdom] and its interests abroad remain a target," Home Secretary David Blunkett said.

The operation, with 700 officers raiding two dozen locations, resulted in the largest seizure of potential bomb-making material since the Irish Republican Army suspended its campaign in 1997.

Police and government officials have been warning for months that a major attack on London was inevitable. Britain's strong support for the war in Iraq makes it a prime target, and there had been fresh calls for vigilance after the Madrid train bombings earlier this month.

All the suspects were Britons and were arrested as part of an operation targeting alleged international terrorist activity, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said.

No Surprise

Press Association, the British news agency, said all eight were of Pakistani descent, but police would not comment on that.

The men, ages 17-32, were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The ammonium nitrate was recovered from a self-storage facility in west London, but there was no danger to people in the area, Clarke said.

Clarke added that the operation was not connected to the Madrid train bombs or Irish terrorism.

Ammonium nitrate is a common fertilizer, but it can be mixed with fuel oil to make a powerful explosive. It was used in the Oct. 12, 2002 blast in Bali that killed 192 people, mostly Western tourists, and in the Oklahoma City bombing at a U.S. government building that killed more than 160 people on April 19, 1995.

Two suspects were arrested in Uxbridge, also in west London, and three in Crawley, south of the capital. One was detained in Ilford, east London, another in Slough, west of London, and another in Horley, south of the capital.

Uxbridge and Slough are near Heathrow airport. Crawley and Horley are near Gatwick airport.

Officers conducted 24 searches that also targeted addresses in Reading, Luton and north London.

"The threat from terrorism remains very real," Clarke said. "The public must remain watchful and alert."

Reality Isn't P.C.

Clarke gave no details of the religious affiliation of the suspects, but he told reporters: "As we have said on many occasions in the past, we in the police service know that the overwhelming majority of the Muslim community are law abiding and completely reject all forms of violence. We have a responsibility to all communities to investigate suspected terrorist activity."

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