UK Police Arrest 9 Muslims

[tomahawk6]

These men are accused of planning a kidnap of a UK muslim soldier where they would torture/behead the soldier and post it on the internet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_re_eu/britain_terror_arrests

BIRMINGHAM, England - Counterterrorism police arrested eight men in an alleged kidnapping plot during pre-dawn raids Wednesday, police said, while a broadcaster reported the suspects wanted to abduct a British Muslim soldier and behead him. Police would not comment on Sky News reports about that, or about a plan to post the beheading on the Internet. Counterterrorism officials — speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation — said the plot was the first of its kind to be uncovered in Britain.

The potential victim was in protective police custody, Sky reported, saying the kidnapping was going to be an "
Iraq-style" execution.

Birmingham has been the site of several recent terrorism sweeps, including summer raids that unveiled an alleged plot by several British suspects to use liquid explosives to blow up as many as 10 trans-Atlantic flights.

It is also the hometown of Britain's first Muslim soldier to be killed in
Afghanistan last year — a death that prompted militant Islamist Web sites to denounce Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, 24, as a traitor. One site — that of extremist British sect al-Ghurabaa — posted an image of the soldier surrounded by flames.

There are 330 Muslim personnel serving in the British armed forces, according to the Defense Ministry, which would not comment on reports that the intended victim was a Muslim soldier.

Dozens of non-Iraqis have been kidnapped in Iraq, where captors have often broadcast video on the Internet.

One of the highest-profile kidnappings and murders was that of 62-year-old Kenneth Bigley from Liverpool. He was kidnapped from a Baghdad suburb in September 2004 and beheaded three weeks later, with his death captured on video.

Police were searching 12 homes in the predominantly Pakistani neighborhood in the central England city. Two Islamic bookstores were also cordoned off.

The men arrested were accused of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism, police said.

Since suicide bombers killed 52 people in London on July 7, 2005 — attacks perpetrated by Muslim extremists who grew up in Britain — counterterrorism units have conducted several raids across the country. One man was shot in one of the raids in the London last year although he was never charged — provoking complaints among Muslims who said they were being targeted.

"People don't trust their own children any more," said Shabir Hussain, chairman of the nearby Ludlow Road Mosque in Birmingham. "You feel like you should challenge your son or daughter: `Where are you going at night? What are you watching on TV? What are you doing on the internet?'

An opinion poll published Monday by the conservative think-tank, the Policy Exchange, found that 37 percent of British Muslims aged 16-24 would prefer Shariah law based on the Quran, and 13 percent of that age group expressed admiration for groups such as al-Qaida that "are prepared to fight the West."

"In terms of the threat, this type of plot would be less of a threat than a bombing, but from a propaganda view, kidnapping provides you with extended media coverage," said former U.S intelligence officer Bob Ayers, now a security analyst based in London.

Prime Minister
Tony Blair's official spokesman declined to comment on the ongoing police operation.

 

[1feral1]

Glad to see these members of this peaceful religion promoting love and harmony in their newly adopted country.

I am sure the British taxpayers will be overjoyed in funding their defence in the upcoming lengthly trials.

Shaking head in disgust yet again,


Wes

 

[geo]

Well.... in this instance, I would wish that, if proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, the guilty SOBs should be sentenced to death - with their own swords...... though I know that won't happen.

I would contend that those convicted in a court of law should have their citzenship revoked.  After having served their time in the local Prison, ship them off to a 3rd world country willing to adopt their muslim brothers (& sisters)

 

[neko]

These men are accused of planning a kidnap of a UK muslim soldier where they would torture/behead the soldier and post it on the internet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_re_eu/britain_terror_arrests


"People don't trust their own children any more," said Shabir Hussain, chairman of the nearby Ludlow Road Mosque in Birmingham. "You feel like you should challenge your son or daughter: `Where are you going at night? What are you watching on TV? What are you doing on the internet?'

Well yes that would be a brilliant idea and hell isn't that part of your job as a parent!?

From same article

An opinion poll published Monday by the conservative think-tank, the Policy Exchange, found that 37 percent of British Muslims aged 16-24 would prefer Shariah law based on the Quran, and 13 percent of that age group expressed admiration for groups such as al-Qaida that "are prepared to fight the West."

Why then are you living there!? Move to a non 'West' country where they practice shariah law.

 

[George Wallace]

They have announced on the news that a ninth arrest has been made.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20070131%2fUK_terror_070131&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True

A ninth suspect has been arrested in Birmingham, England on allegations of involvement in a terrorism plot after eight other suspects were corralled by police in pre-dawn raids.

More on Link

 

[geo]

Discounts with volume seating.

 

[alfie]

If they were here they would likely be asked to run for the Taliban jack party in the next election

 

[geo]

Alfie....
you're exagerating things somewhat!

 

[Cardstonkid]

He is, but only somewhat.

 

[The Bread Guy]

A bit more, shared with the usual disclaimer....

A foiled plot in Britain may signal chilling tactic
If confirmed, the plot's use of kidnapping would amount to a significant departure in strategy.
Mark Rice-Oxley, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb 07
Article Link

British security officials were claiming Wednesday to have foiled a terrorist plot which would have imported for the first time to Britain the grisly Iraq-style tactic of kidnapping a victim, torturing and beheading him and filming the atrocity for broadcast on the Internet.

In what police characterized as "the foothills of a major investigation," at least nine arrests were made at a dozen addresses in and around Birmingham, England, including homes, an Islamic bookshop, and a cybercafe,

The suspects were the latest in a succession of hundreds arrested under terrorism legislation introduced seven years ago. Last August, 21 people were arrested in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic flights.

But experts said this plot's new tactic, if confirmed, would amount to a significant departure in strategy. Thus far, the public has focused its concern on the possibility of suicide bombers seeking to emulate the perpetrators of the July 7, 2005, bombings that killed 52 people. The prospect of being snatched from the street, paraded before video cameras, and decapitated was considered a horror peculiar only to countries like Iraq.

"A plot to kidnap, torture, and execute an individual in the heart of England, and film the gruesome events on a videotape for posting on the Internet, represents a new chilling escalation in tactics by the global jihadi terror groups and carries grave implications for all western nations," says MJ Gohel, a terrorism expert with the London-based Asia-Pacific Foundation.

"In the past, we have witnessed the brutal beheadings of Western hostages in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, but for it to happen in a major British city would send shock waves to millions of people throughout Europe and the world."

Debate about extent of 'fear factor'

Mr. Gohel recalled the episodes in Iraq, when American Nicolas Berg and Briton Ken Bigley were subjected to the grim fate, and added that repeating the tactic in the West would be "a massive cold-blooded propaganda tool for intimidating the public and governments. The brutal torture and beheading of an identified individual can psychologically resonate far louder than say a car bombing of unknown or anonymous victims," Gohel says.

Paul Rogers of Bradford University also underscored the potential for a negative psychological impact. "If such a plot were to be targeted against an individual, then it would be a very new development as far as Britain is concerned, but obviously worrying as far as the fear factor is concerned," he said in an interview with Britain's national Press Association news agency.

But Bob Ayres, a security analyst at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, contends that the fear-factor would be limited.

"The vast majority of the UK population doesn't believe they're high-profile enough to warrant being pulled off the street," he says. For most Britons, he adds, "getting blown up on the Underground on the way to work is much more of a concern."

But while kidnapping may not instill greater fear among the public, Mr. Ayres says, its strategic advantage for radicals is prolonged media exposure. With the release of periodic video statements, captors can keep the media's spotlight on them and their message for months, he says.

Tackling home-grown terrorism

At least some of those arrested Wednesday were believed to be young Britons of south Asian origins. The local member of Parliament, Shahid Malik, said he had been told they had been under surveillance for six months. Some of the arrests connected with the alleged planes plot were also made in Birmingham.

Pakistan, which crucially cooperated with Britain over the aviation threat last year, was again in contact with British security agencies in the run-up to the latest arrests. British media reports claimed that the target was a British Muslim soldier, though police did not confirm this.

The sudden emergence of homegrown terrorists and suspected plotters has forced domestic security services to improve their game, spread the recruiting net wider, and accelerate efforts to infiltrate the cells believed to be planning attacks.

Recently, signs have emerged that counterterrorist forces tracked radicals subsequently involved in plots without detaining them. One of the 7/7 perpetrators, Mohammad Sidique Khan, was known to security services as a radical intent on waging jihad. In the ongoing trial in London of the suspects involved in an alleged plot to bomb the mass transit network two weeks later on July 21, 2005 – a plot that failed – evidence has emerged that suspects were under police surveillance as early as 2004.

Balance of rights and security

Though police believe that the raids and multiple arrests of recent years have foiled major terror attacks, Britain's Muslim minority often complains that rights are trampled over during the police action – and that often charges are not even brought. Two suspects were roughly arrested, and one shot, during a police raid last summer; both were later released without charge. Some in the Muslim community argue that the police action is just driving more disaffected youths into the arms of radicals.

Last year, the head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham Buller, warned that the security services had identified 30 major terrorist plots in Britain and more than 1,600 individuals actively engaged in promoting attacks.

New tactic?

But after the 7/7 attack and the failed 7/21 attack, heightened security and a greater police presence, particularly on the London Underground, has arguably persuaded radicals to change their targets. Experts say that mass-transit systems, even airports and aircraft, are easier to defend against than the threat of abduction.

"Kidnapping is a highly cost-efficient strategy for terror groups to deploy because no expensive bomb-making materials or detonators are needed, no skill or training is necessary – all that is required is a terrorist willing to wield a knife on a defenseless hostage," Gohel says.

Terrorism experts said that it was important to establish whether the kidnapping plot, if confirmed, was a one-off action or a new tactic.

Patrick Mercer, Conservative homeland security spokesman, said: "If this proves to be accurate, this is a disturbing departure.

"We have got to learn the lessons of this," he added, "to see what we can do to thwart future attacks."

 

[Shadowolf]

Alfie....
you're exagerating things somewhat!

Ya, these guys wouldnt actually run for the party.  They would be held up as examples of patriot war protesters and anyone who disagreed with them would be vilified as rascist, redneck warmongers, or Albertans.