13 arrested in UK terror raids

LONDON, England - Thirteen men have been arrested by British police on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities, and homes are being searched in four locations, Scotland Yard has announced.

The arrests, carried out under provisions of Britain's 2000 Terrorism Act, were part of a "preplanned, ongoing intelligence-led operation," and the men - in their 20s and 30s - were suspected of being involved "in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism," Scotland Yard said in a written statement

The arrests were made Tuesday afternoon and evening in northwest London, and the districts of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Lancashire.

Search warrants were being executed at homes in the same areas, and the searches "are expected to take some time to complete," according to Scotland Yard.

The men were taken to a central London police station to be interviewed by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorist Branch.

The statement from Scotland Yard did not disclose the nationalities of the men arrested, nor did it provide details of their alleged terrorist activities.

The arrests did not appear to be linked to information Pakistani authorities recently said they had uncovered about threats to Britain and America.

Police declined to specify the men's nationalities, but the British Broadcasting Corporation said they were all of South Asian descent and some were thought to be British citizens.

"Today's operation is part of continuing and extensive inquiries by police and the security service into alleged international terrorism," the police statement said.

Police suggested the raids were not linked to the terror threats disclosed by American authorities Sunday to financial industry buildings in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey, The Associated Press reports.

Pakistan's information minister said Monday his country found plans for new attacks against the United States and Britain on a computer seized during the arrest last month of a senior al Qaeda suspect wanted for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa.

Asked whether the Tuesday raids were linked to the recent Pakistani discovery, police declined to answer directly, but noted that the investigation leading to the arrests had been under way for some time.

While British authorities say the threat from terrorism remains high, they have not warned of any specific threat like that announced in the United States.

Police will have up to two weeks to hold the men before deciding whether to charge them, but courts grant that permission only a few days at a time.

Suspects arrested in previous anti-terrorism raids have often been released without charge before the two weeks expire.

Critics say that indicates police have been too quick to make arrests, a charge they deny.

The Metropolitan Police said in April that more than half the 572 people who had by then been arrested in anti-terror raids since the September 11, 2001 attacks had been released without charge.

Fewer than one in five had been charged with terrorism-related offenses; the others were accused of lesser crimes, often immigration violations, AP reports.