Posted on 08/12/2006 7:27:42 AM PDT by traumer
Arrests related to the reported terror threat to UK flights took place in London, High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, and the West Midlands.
Twenty-three people are being held in London after raids on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. One raid was in Walthamstow, east London.
Another person was released without charge on Friday night. Searches were continuing on Friday at several businesses and homes after an "unprecedented" level of surveillance.
Two of those arrested under the Terrorism Act came from the Birmingham area, West Midlands police have said. At least 14 of the suspects are from East London.
LONDON
Police raided at least five properties in Walthamstow including a flat on Forest Road and a house on Folkestone Road.
Searches at the addresses were continuing on Friday.
Eyewitness John Weir, who lives opposite a terraced house containing a number of flats in Forest Road, said about 20 officers had forced its front door open at about 2350 BST on Wednesday.
Officers had searched a first floor flat by torchlight but no-one appeared to have been taken out of the property, Mr Weir added.
In east London, police officers were continuing to search two houses in Albert Road, Walthamstow on Friday.
One man, a father of someone who lives close by, said he believed the couple living at one of the houses were foster parents.
He said: "I'm sure they used to foster children. They had five of their own, all girls I think, and then there were always little ones which they fostered."
At a house further down the road, three police officers guarded a mid-terrace property.
An elderly neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she was "shocked" to see police raiding the address.
She said: "It's a lovely family that lives there. They were Asian and very friendly to everyone. If ever I needed anything I knew I could ask even though I never did."
Police also raided a second house in nearby Folkestone Road in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "All we know is that the police came last night and they told us that one young man was arrested."
The neighbour said he believed a young man was living at the terraced property at the time of Wednesday night's raid.
A West Midlands police spokesman said the two arrests it had made were "part of a nationwide counter-terrorism operation co-ordinated by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorist Branch" and that no firearms had been involved.
Police were continuing their searches on Friday.
June Lethbridge, 85, lives beside a property on St Margarets Road, Ward End, which was raided.
She said a family had lived there for 12 years.
Police also searched a two-floor shuttered building in Belchers Lane in the Alum Rock area of Birmingham on Thursday afternoon, but would not confirm if their presence was linked to the anti-terror operation.
Mohammed Farooq, a newsagent on that street, said he felt he had "to be vigilant, wary", because he did not know who would walk into his shop.
Shopkeeper Sajid Hussain said people were "scared to come out of their houses" because they did not know which property police might raid next.
Resident Ayub Hussain said he was shocked.
"I do not think there is any type of terrorism here," he added.
"The community here lives together - all faiths, Asian, black and white." Searches were carried out at the properties on Friday.
Specialist Met Police search teams were also scouring an area of woodland in High Wycombe on Thursday, half a mile from another residential address in Micklefield Road which was being guarded by police officers.
It is understood this house, a Victorian semi, was also raided by anti-terror squads.
Neighbours said the house had been lived in by an Asian family for around 15 years and that they did not interact much with fellow residents.
Meanwhile, at the far end of Micklefield Road, search teams had cordoned off a large swath of King's Wood, while Thames Valley constables guarded the scene.
Paul Goodman, the Conservative MP for High Wycombe, said he hoped the raid would not lead to reprisals.
"This is a heavy blow to the town where community relations have traditionally been very strong," he said.
He also said the events highlighted two key points.
"First, that the vast majority of Muslims in High Wycombe and elsewhere are peaceful and law-abiding citizens - and that any hostile action towards them is reprehensible.
"Second, that all Muslims must strive ceaselessly to condemn, confront and root out support for terror from their communities."
Liars and phonys IMO. They are no more shocked than the maniac mullahs behind all this.
whats with this "asian" crap, anyway? Moving from east to west, "Asia" stops where Bangladesh begins.
"Oh my, but Achmed was such a nice boy. They must have made a mistake!!"
incorrect
The Washington Post went to great lengths today to make this plot seem like a mysterious aberration with its article "Suspects recalled (by neighbors) as just normal guys," the gist being that anyone who likes soccer couldn't possibly be plotting a terror attack, these were nice boys, and BS like that. And yesterday the Post had a long story about how to build a liquid bomb. The Post editors and writers are smug, traitorous creeps, not much better than the terrorists, with whom they so closely identify.
Typical muslim reaction. No shock that 3000+ people could have been sent to a fiery death, just shock that their neighborhood is being raided and shock that a "backlash"(they do that one to death don't they?)will occur and they will get nasty looks from people.
an elderly neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she was "shocked...
"It's a lovely family that lives there...
"They were Asian and very friendly to everyone....
"If ever I needed anything I knew I could ask even though I never did...
Resident Ayub Hussain said he was shocked....
"I do not think there is any type of terrorism here..."
"The community here lives together - all faiths, Asian, black and white...
a Victorian semite, was also raided by anti-terror squads...
"... the vast majority of Muslims in High Wycombe and elsewhere are peaceful and law-abiding citizens ...
" any hostile action towards them is reprehensible....
" all Muslims must strive ceaselessly to condemn, confront and root out support for terror from their communities...
BAAAAAAH - BAAAAH !
That is Brit-speak.
Surprised "some of my best friends are infidels" was not thrown in there.
You think India is in Europe? Or Africa?
I'm shocked that these idiots were going to blow up hundreds of innocent and unsuspecting people. Not surprised, however.
I live in an apartment complex... and frankly... I'm not shocked at ANYTHING that happens here. IMO... this is canned, media bullsh*t.
the libs are precisely painting themselves into a corner with this ' gee, they were all such nice boys it seemed'
She has a point. It's pretty obvious some of the nicest people in the world are well known for blowing up airliners and murdering thousands of people.
This only goes to show how deceptive people can be. Especially Muslims, whose religion calls for this tactic when dealing with infidels.
Hitler loved his dogs, too.
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