Plot to behead Muslim British soldier is foiled in Britain's 2nd-largest city.....
Ninth arrest in Muslim soldier 'kidnap terror plot'
31st January 2007
Police outside a house in Jackson Road in Alum Rock, Birmingham, where suspects were arrested today
A heavy police presence in Foxton Road, Alum Rock.
A ninth person has been arrested today in connection with a plot to bring Iraqi kidnap and murder tactics to Britain.
The suspect was detained by anti-terror police on the motorway in the Birmingham area.
It follows dawn raids across the city by Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police.
A British Muslim soldier is thought to have been singled out as the target of a terror cell in Birmingham.
Security sources say the gang was going to video him pleading with Tony Blair to pull troops out of Iraq before beheading him. The serviceman, in his twenties, is now under police guard.
The plot was described as a “chilling” attempt to import “Ken Bigley-style” terror methods to Britain.
In Baghdad, Westerners such as Mr Bigley have been shown manacled, blindfolded and dressed in orange jumpsuits.
They were forced to make appeals broadcast on the internet before being murdered by Islamist extremists.
Eight suspects were arrested in raids on 12 addresses in Birmingham’s “balti triangle” early this morning in what the Home Office said was a “major” operation.
Seven of those arrested were said to be British-born Muslims and the other a Pakistani. One source said: “This plot represents a staggering new departure in terrorist tactics in the UK.
“It would be backed up by propaganda, images of him pleading for his life, putting the whole country on edge. The pressure on the PM would have been unimaginable.”
Army sources said the intended victim of the alleged plot was a soldier who had served in Afghanistan. As a Muslim member of the armed forces he would be regarded as a “traitor” by radicals.
The arrests came after a surveillance operation led by MI5 which lasted six months. Specialist officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were involved and joined West Midlands police in the operation.
The raids took place in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham.
Most of the addresses were residential but other locations included an Islamic bookshop, a cybercafé and a general food store. All the addresses are being searched.
One source said the gang was ready to strike, adding: “This was a serious terrorist plot which would have employed techniques that have only previously been used in Iraq. It would have been a chilling development.”
The source said of the suspects: “They were ready to go and a decision was taken to move quickly and make the arrests.”
Security chiefs know of about 30 terror plots in the UK, referred to as “priority one” cases, and this is believed to have been one of those.
Home Secretary John Reid was briefed through the night on the operation. West Midlands police said the suspects were held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. In a statement the force added: “A number of addresses in Birmingham have been secured and sealed off and are currently being searched.
“While this operation poses no specific threat to the West Midlands, as a precautionary measure we will have an enhanced police presence at these locations. We would ask for the continued support of the public.
“Our message to people living in the West Midlands is to remain vigilant. Public safety is our absolute priority.”
The raids come after the MI5 director-general’s disclosure that the agency was watching an unprecedented number of people.
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said 3,000 agents were tracking 200 plots involving 1,600 young British Muslims. Last week, police arrested five people in terrorism investigations centred on Manchester and Halifax.
dailymail.co.uk
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Brit hero ... Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi
Muslim heroes fight for UK
By ONLINE REPORTER
January 31, 2007
MUSLIMS make up a small but significant part of Britain’s armed forces.
Although the numbers are tiny - less than 0.2 per cent of the total - they provide visible support for the assertion that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are NOT wars against Islam.
Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, who died in Afghanistan on July 1 last year, made front pages as the first British Muslim soldier to be killed in the “war on terror”.
The Pakistan-born soldier’s family said he had hoped to use his Islamic background to foster greater understanding in the Army.
They said: “He felt privileged to represent the Army as a Muslim British Pakistani who wanted to use his background and position to contribute at a time where there exists a lack of understanding of cultures, ideologies and religious identities.”
His uncle, Mohammed Javed, said his nephew was a “hero of Islam, Pakistan, Britain and the international community who sacrificed his life for a noble cause”.
Dozens of Pakistani tribesmen attended a service for L/Cpl Hashmi in his birthplace of the north-western city of Peshawar, near the Afghan border, where support for Taliban militants is high.
There are currently 330 Muslims in the British armed forces, 250 of them in the Army, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Last November the National Audit Office said total armed forces personnel stood at 180,690, meaning Muslims made up less than 0.2% of the total.
The MoD’s website has a detailed question-and-answer section aimed at encouraging Muslims and other ethnic minorities to consider joining the armed forces.
It states that Muslim men can have “short neatly trimmed beards” and Muslim women are usually allowed to wear uniform trousers instead of a skirt.
The highest-ranking Muslim officer is currently Pakistan-born Royal Navy Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain.
Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain of the Royal Navy is the highest-ranking Muslim officer in the British armed forces
At the time of his appointment last August, he said: “Large parts of the community of the UK are not completely content with our involvement in Iraq and we saw that beforehand in the demonstrations in London.
“There is a sense that perhaps this is a part of a foreign policy that certain groups find difficult.
“For me personally, I feel like the barrister who carries on with the job irrespective of what it is.
“The whole fabric of our country relies on us all doing what we’re meant to do.
“If you disagree with foreign policy then there is an obvious route to voice your concerns.
“You can demonstrate, write to your MP, write to the media, start your own political party, all manner of activities, but it’s in the political and media domain where this can be taken forward.”
thesun.co.uk
Ninth arrest in Muslim soldier 'kidnap terror plot'
31st January 2007
Police outside a house in Jackson Road in Alum Rock, Birmingham, where suspects were arrested today
A heavy police presence in Foxton Road, Alum Rock.
A ninth person has been arrested today in connection with a plot to bring Iraqi kidnap and murder tactics to Britain.
The suspect was detained by anti-terror police on the motorway in the Birmingham area.
It follows dawn raids across the city by Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police.
A British Muslim soldier is thought to have been singled out as the target of a terror cell in Birmingham.
Security sources say the gang was going to video him pleading with Tony Blair to pull troops out of Iraq before beheading him. The serviceman, in his twenties, is now under police guard.
The plot was described as a “chilling” attempt to import “Ken Bigley-style” terror methods to Britain.
In Baghdad, Westerners such as Mr Bigley have been shown manacled, blindfolded and dressed in orange jumpsuits.
They were forced to make appeals broadcast on the internet before being murdered by Islamist extremists.
Eight suspects were arrested in raids on 12 addresses in Birmingham’s “balti triangle” early this morning in what the Home Office said was a “major” operation.
Seven of those arrested were said to be British-born Muslims and the other a Pakistani. One source said: “This plot represents a staggering new departure in terrorist tactics in the UK.
“It would be backed up by propaganda, images of him pleading for his life, putting the whole country on edge. The pressure on the PM would have been unimaginable.”
Army sources said the intended victim of the alleged plot was a soldier who had served in Afghanistan. As a Muslim member of the armed forces he would be regarded as a “traitor” by radicals.
The arrests came after a surveillance operation led by MI5 which lasted six months. Specialist officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were involved and joined West Midlands police in the operation.
The raids took place in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham.
Most of the addresses were residential but other locations included an Islamic bookshop, a cybercafé and a general food store. All the addresses are being searched.
One source said the gang was ready to strike, adding: “This was a serious terrorist plot which would have employed techniques that have only previously been used in Iraq. It would have been a chilling development.”
The source said of the suspects: “They were ready to go and a decision was taken to move quickly and make the arrests.”
Security chiefs know of about 30 terror plots in the UK, referred to as “priority one” cases, and this is believed to have been one of those.
Home Secretary John Reid was briefed through the night on the operation. West Midlands police said the suspects were held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. In a statement the force added: “A number of addresses in Birmingham have been secured and sealed off and are currently being searched.
“While this operation poses no specific threat to the West Midlands, as a precautionary measure we will have an enhanced police presence at these locations. We would ask for the continued support of the public.
“Our message to people living in the West Midlands is to remain vigilant. Public safety is our absolute priority.”
The raids come after the MI5 director-general’s disclosure that the agency was watching an unprecedented number of people.
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said 3,000 agents were tracking 200 plots involving 1,600 young British Muslims. Last week, police arrested five people in terrorism investigations centred on Manchester and Halifax.
dailymail.co.uk
------------------------------------------------
Brit hero ... Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi
By ONLINE REPORTER
January 31, 2007
MUSLIMS make up a small but significant part of Britain’s armed forces.
Although the numbers are tiny - less than 0.2 per cent of the total - they provide visible support for the assertion that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are NOT wars against Islam.
Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, who died in Afghanistan on July 1 last year, made front pages as the first British Muslim soldier to be killed in the “war on terror”.
The Pakistan-born soldier’s family said he had hoped to use his Islamic background to foster greater understanding in the Army.
They said: “He felt privileged to represent the Army as a Muslim British Pakistani who wanted to use his background and position to contribute at a time where there exists a lack of understanding of cultures, ideologies and religious identities.”
His uncle, Mohammed Javed, said his nephew was a “hero of Islam, Pakistan, Britain and the international community who sacrificed his life for a noble cause”.
Dozens of Pakistani tribesmen attended a service for L/Cpl Hashmi in his birthplace of the north-western city of Peshawar, near the Afghan border, where support for Taliban militants is high.
There are currently 330 Muslims in the British armed forces, 250 of them in the Army, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Last November the National Audit Office said total armed forces personnel stood at 180,690, meaning Muslims made up less than 0.2% of the total.
The MoD’s website has a detailed question-and-answer section aimed at encouraging Muslims and other ethnic minorities to consider joining the armed forces.
It states that Muslim men can have “short neatly trimmed beards” and Muslim women are usually allowed to wear uniform trousers instead of a skirt.
The highest-ranking Muslim officer is currently Pakistan-born Royal Navy Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain.
Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain of the Royal Navy is the highest-ranking Muslim officer in the British armed forces
At the time of his appointment last August, he said: “Large parts of the community of the UK are not completely content with our involvement in Iraq and we saw that beforehand in the demonstrations in London.
“There is a sense that perhaps this is a part of a foreign policy that certain groups find difficult.
“For me personally, I feel like the barrister who carries on with the job irrespective of what it is.
“The whole fabric of our country relies on us all doing what we’re meant to do.
“If you disagree with foreign policy then there is an obvious route to voice your concerns.
“You can demonstrate, write to your MP, write to the media, start your own political party, all manner of activities, but it’s in the political and media domain where this can be taken forward.”
thesun.co.uk
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