A terror attack was just “hours away” from being committed on “specific premises” before being foiled by the authorities.
Officers arrested five men, including four Iranian nationals in a move Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described as one of the biggest counter-terror operations in recent years.
There was speculation posted that the target may have been a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community, reports The Telegraph.
A further three Iranian men were arrested in London over a separate operation, with officers concerned they would leave the UK or destroy critical evidence against them after the other, unrelated raids.
The men, aged 39, 44 and 55, who are all Iranian nationals, were arrested and detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023.
Yvette Cooper issued a statement last night after dramatic footage was posted on social media of the arrest
PA
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.
“I want to thank the police and security services who showed the most impressive professionalism and expertise in carrying out these operations to keep the country safe.
“We support the police and the security agencies in the ongoing work that they are doing. The most important thing is to protect our national security.”
Asked about possible links to the Iranian state, she said: “These are major operations that have taken place and the ongoing investigation is immensely important, and of course it involves Iranian nationals in both investigations and we are supporting the police and the security agencies in the investigations that they are taking and the security assessments that they are doing.”
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Commander Dominic Murphy said it was a “fast paced” case
GB News
Dominic Murphy, the head of counter terrorism at the Met Police, said one was a terrorist plot for an attack against a specific premises, while the other was a national security arrest.
He said the force made all the arrests they are seeking to – but several hundred officers are still working on the investigations, which are in their early stages.
The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, said in October that authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022.
He warned of an “unprecedented pace and scale” of plots posing “potentially lethal threats” to British citizens and UK residents.
A resident of Rochdale said he saw counter terrorism officers raid a neighbouring property after his kids ran inside from playing in the garden.
“We heard a massive bang and saw loads of police everywhere with guns shouting at us to get inside the house,” Kyle Warren told Sky News.
“We went inside and went upstairs to see what was going on. Then we saw a man getting pulled out from the back, he basically got dragged down the side entry and thrown into all the bushes and then handcuffed.
“There must have been 20 to 30 police officers.”
