Ring the Bells. . . let people know
This is a victory. . . so don't expect to hear much about it.
Story I:
Kidnap And Beheading Plot
Updated: 14:19, Wednesday January 31, 2007
The eight people arrested by terror police in Birmingham were allegedly planning an Iraq-style kidnapping and beheading in the UK.
Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt says they intended to post a video of the hostage being tortured and killed on the internet.
Their target was a British Muslim soldier in his twenties who is now under police protection.
The soldier, who has not been named, has served with UK forces in Afghanistan.
His abduction would have mirrored the kidnappings of the British hostages Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan by Iraqi insurgents.
The suspects - believed to be of Pakistani origin - were detained under the Terrorism Act after a six-month surveillance operation.
One of the sealed-off roads
It is thought they are being held in Coventry. Two are said to be males aged 31 and 29. The latter has been named locally as Amjad Mahmood.
More details will be given at a press conference at 3pm. You can watch it live on Sky News online.
Brunt said officers feared the alleged plot was "coming to fruition".
The fact the aim was apparently not to cause mass casualties, as in previous terror attacks, signalled a "chilling" change in tactics.
The suspects had been tracked in a combined police operation led by the Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.
They were supported by officers from the West Midlands police and the Metropolitan Police.
Officers swooped on 12 addresses in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham at 4am.
Van is towed away
West Midlands police said the eight were held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
"Twelve addresses have been secured and sealed off... and all are currently being searched."
The statement warned: "We are mindful that communities, locations or individuals don't become a target as a result of recent events.
"Hate crime will not be tolerated and we will take robust action where necessary."
A Home Office spokesman said: "This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face."
Today's arrests come after police detained a total of five people in anti-terror raids in Manchester and Halifax, West Yorkshire, last week.
Story II:
EVIL Muslim terrorists were to kidnap a British soldier on UK streets and force him to plead with Tony Blair for his life in return for a pull-out of troops from Iraq, The Sun can reveal.
The soldier would have been filmed begging the PM to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan in a sick propaganda stunt.
Army sources said the target was a British Muslim soldier in his 20s.
He would eventually be beheaded on film in a sick mirror of the torture and savage killing of British hostage Ken Bigley if Mr Blair refused.
Senior security sources say the plot would have put the most unbearable blackmail pressure on the Premier to act.
It would also have sent shockwaves through the entire British Armed Forces - putting the fear of God into every man and woman in uniform on or off duty.
The fact that the arrests were made in Birmingham could suggest that soldiers recovering from wounds in military hospitals there might have been targeted.
To see the latest pictures from today's anti-terror operation click on the slideshow below.
But sources say they cannot be sure of this - and are also investigating leads that a serviceman could have been picked up by the kidnappers anywhere on the mainland.
One well-placed source said: "This plot represents a staggering change of tactic.
"We have all been braced for more mainland bombs which claim many lives and cause turmoil and widespread public fear.
"This would have taken things to a new dimension. The pressure on the PM would have been unimagineable.
"And there would have been a knock-on effect in terms of military morale."
Britain's service personnel take security precautions when off duty in and around their barracks and married quarters.
But in recent years it has become common practice for them to live off their bases in normal houses along side civilians.
The demise of the IRA threat on mainland Britain means they have been allowed to be more relaxed.
Now there will be increased security measures imposed on all servicemen and women to be on their guard.
The cunning plot represents a huge change in tactics by al Qaeda and its supporters.
It proves beyond doubt that terrorist cells are active in mainland Britain - just as MI5 boss Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned before Christmas.
And it demonstrates how sophisticated the al Qaeda cells in our midst have become.
They understand the power and importance of the media and the influence it can bring around the world on governments.
The kidnap and subsequent killing of engineer Mr Bigley two-and-a-half years ago was watched around the globe.
It paralysed Labour's annual conference as the PM waited to hear news of the hostage's fate.
Story I:
Kidnap And Beheading Plot
Updated: 14:19, Wednesday January 31, 2007
The eight people arrested by terror police in Birmingham were allegedly planning an Iraq-style kidnapping and beheading in the UK.
Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt says they intended to post a video of the hostage being tortured and killed on the internet.
Their target was a British Muslim soldier in his twenties who is now under police protection.
The soldier, who has not been named, has served with UK forces in Afghanistan.
His abduction would have mirrored the kidnappings of the British hostages Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan by Iraqi insurgents.
The suspects - believed to be of Pakistani origin - were detained under the Terrorism Act after a six-month surveillance operation.
One of the sealed-off roads
It is thought they are being held in Coventry. Two are said to be males aged 31 and 29. The latter has been named locally as Amjad Mahmood.
More details will be given at a press conference at 3pm. You can watch it live on Sky News online.
Brunt said officers feared the alleged plot was "coming to fruition".
The fact the aim was apparently not to cause mass casualties, as in previous terror attacks, signalled a "chilling" change in tactics.
The suspects had been tracked in a combined police operation led by the Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.
They were supported by officers from the West Midlands police and the Metropolitan Police.
Officers swooped on 12 addresses in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham at 4am.
Van is towed away
West Midlands police said the eight were held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
"Twelve addresses have been secured and sealed off... and all are currently being searched."
The statement warned: "We are mindful that communities, locations or individuals don't become a target as a result of recent events.
"Hate crime will not be tolerated and we will take robust action where necessary."
A Home Office spokesman said: "This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face."
Today's arrests come after police detained a total of five people in anti-terror raids in Manchester and Halifax, West Yorkshire, last week.
Story II:
EVIL Muslim terrorists were to kidnap a British soldier on UK streets and force him to plead with Tony Blair for his life in return for a pull-out of troops from Iraq, The Sun can reveal.
The soldier would have been filmed begging the PM to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan in a sick propaganda stunt.
Army sources said the target was a British Muslim soldier in his 20s.
He would eventually be beheaded on film in a sick mirror of the torture and savage killing of British hostage Ken Bigley if Mr Blair refused.
Senior security sources say the plot would have put the most unbearable blackmail pressure on the Premier to act.
It would also have sent shockwaves through the entire British Armed Forces - putting the fear of God into every man and woman in uniform on or off duty.
The fact that the arrests were made in Birmingham could suggest that soldiers recovering from wounds in military hospitals there might have been targeted.
To see the latest pictures from today's anti-terror operation click on the slideshow below.
But sources say they cannot be sure of this - and are also investigating leads that a serviceman could have been picked up by the kidnappers anywhere on the mainland.
One well-placed source said: "This plot represents a staggering change of tactic.
"We have all been braced for more mainland bombs which claim many lives and cause turmoil and widespread public fear.
"This would have taken things to a new dimension. The pressure on the PM would have been unimagineable.
"And there would have been a knock-on effect in terms of military morale."
Britain's service personnel take security precautions when off duty in and around their barracks and married quarters.
But in recent years it has become common practice for them to live off their bases in normal houses along side civilians.
The demise of the IRA threat on mainland Britain means they have been allowed to be more relaxed.
Now there will be increased security measures imposed on all servicemen and women to be on their guard.
The cunning plot represents a huge change in tactics by al Qaeda and its supporters.
It proves beyond doubt that terrorist cells are active in mainland Britain - just as MI5 boss Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned before Christmas.
And it demonstrates how sophisticated the al Qaeda cells in our midst have become.
They understand the power and importance of the media and the influence it can bring around the world on governments.
The kidnap and subsequent killing of engineer Mr Bigley two-and-a-half years ago was watched around the globe.
It paralysed Labour's annual conference as the PM waited to hear news of the hostage's fate.
posted by Logan VanLandingham at 6:33 AM
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