9 Held In Alleged U.K. Terror Plot
Media Say Plan Was To Torture, Behead British Muslim Soldier, Broadcast Killing Online
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British Police Thwart Terror
Police made 9 arrests in Birmingham, England - all of them tied to an alleged terror plot to kidnap and kill a British soldier and show the murder on the Web. Mark Phillips reports.
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Homegrown Terror In Britain
British Muslims believe constant terror raids on their community are too much. But police say radical Islamists, not to be confused with moderate Muslims, are a real threat. Elizabeth Palmer reports.
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British Terror Plot Foiled
British authorities say that they have foiled a major terrorist plot following the raids of several addresses and the arrest of eight people in Birmingham, England. Elizabeth Palmer reports.
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Police forensic officers climb a ladder onto the roof of a grocery store in Birmingham, England, on Jan. 31, 2007, following dawn raids when British counter-terrorism police arrested eight men in an alleged kidnapping plot. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)
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A family walks down a residential street alongside police in Birmingham, England, on Jan. 31, 2007, following dawn raids when British counter-terrorism police arrested nine men in an alleged kidnapping plot. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)
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British police officers secure a bookshop in Birmingham, England, in connection with arrests made under the Terrorism Act in early morning raids on Jan. 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Rui Viera)
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British police officers secure the area outside a house with windows obscured by paper in Birmingham, England, in connection with arrests made under the Terrorism Act in early morning raids on Jan. 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Dave Jones)
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British police officers secure the area outside a house in Birmingham, England, in connection with investigations and the arrest of suspects made under the Terrorism Act in early morning raids on Jan. 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Dave Jones)
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Photo Essay
U.K. Kidnap Terror Arrests
British police arrest 9 men accused of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism.
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Trans-Atlantic Terror Plot
Scheme to blow up U.S.-bound aircraft is foiled in U.K.; aviation security ratcheted up.
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Global Terror
Major terrorist organizations, the FBI's most wanted and facts and photos from recent attacks.
The alleged plot, said by British media to mirror the brutal killings of foreign hostages in Iraq, was in its final stages and uncovered during a six-month surveillance operation by anti-terror officers, police said.
"The threat from terrorism remains very real," said Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw, who would not confirm reports from the British Broadcasting Corp. and other media that the intended victim was an army soldier to be killed in an "Iraqi-style" execution and broadcast on the Internet.
Britain has been at the heart of several thwarted terror plots. One involved a British Muslim who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up landmarks including the New York Stock Exchange. Last August, police foiled an alleged plan by Muslim extremists to use liquid explosives to blow up as many as 10 flights between the United States and Britain.
Britains secret service says it has at least 30 active terrorist plots and 1,600 suspects currently under surveillance, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.
But many British Muslims believe that's an over-reaction.
"Every other day there is a raid," one Muslim man told CBS.
For this reason the operation was a risky one, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips. Police have made high-profile arrests of Muslims suspected of ambitious terror plots before, only to have to let suspects go when the intelligence proved wrong. If they can't make this one stick, they risk further alienating an already suspicious community.
But the Birmingham kidnapping plot raised fears that a new type of terrorism had reached Britain one that threatens to spread the type of terror seen in Iraq with kidnappings and publicized beheadings, and one that suggests Britain's young Muslims are becoming angrier over their country's continued involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Four suicide bombers Muslims raised in England who expressed anger over Britain's role in the wars killed 52 people on London's transit system during rush-hour attacks on July 7, 2005. The killings were western Europe's first suicide bombings.
In the past year, that anger has spilled over to Muslims who serve in the British armed forces.
The potential victim of the latest plot reportedly was a British Muslim soldier who was under police protection, British media reported.
Britain's first Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan last year was from Birmingham, where his death prompted militant Islamist Web sites to denounce Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, 24, as a traitor. One site that of extremist British sect al-Ghurabaa posted an image of Hashmi surrounded by flames.
His brother Zeeshan Hashmi, who left the British Army in September 2005, was alerted to the arrests by concerned officials at the Ministry of Defense.
"When I woke up, there were missed calls and messages from them wanting to reassure me," he said. "I'm extremely proud of my role in the British army and my brother's sacrifice. My brother didn't just go as a soldier but as a human wanting to help other humans in a region where they were suffering. It had nothing to do with politics."
Despite his family living less than a mile from the raided properties in Birmingham, Zeeshan Hashmi now studying Arabic at Cambridge University does not believe he was the target of the plot.
"What's more worrying is the negative publicity this will generate about British Muslims," Zeeshan Hashmi said. "Nothing is proven, but the accused people only represent a small element of the Muslim community who are completely opposed to the core values of Islam which is a peaceful doctrine."
Last year, a London street vendor was sentenced to six years in prison for plotting to kill a decorated British soldier. Abu Baker Mansha was accused of targeting Cpl. Mark Byles, whose address and other materials were found in Mansha's apartment.
Byles was awarded a military cross for bravery following an attack in which several Iraqi insurgents were killed exploits covered by British newspapers. One of the articles with Byles' name was circled and found in Mansha's apartment.
The Defense Ministry said 330 Muslims are serving in the British armed forces. It would not comment on reports that the intended victim was a soldier.
"This would be the first case of Islamic extremists using kidnapping as a tactic but these are not the first terrorist kidnapping threats to Britain. The IRA provided those," said former U.S intelligence officer Bob Ayers, now a security analyst based in London.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 163 Commentsyou have more chance getting killed picking up a quart of milk at the store than being hurt by a terrorist!
Well! I have news for them, the Romans, the Vikings and even Hitler got a kick up the backside. Backing us up against the wall will unleash retribution, be warned. "Political Corretness" will be history.
Unfortunately our politicians find out too late that the lack of immigration control, appeasement and disregard for the opinion of the indigenous population leads to serious problems and spawn's evil. Adolf Hitler is a prime example of appeasement.
Bob Puhalsky
10150 Weedon Rd
Newburg, Md
20664
301-934-0509
What we really need to understand is that they are a very small part of a group of people that love life and want to live in peace. Why do we continually fall for the media hype that tries to stir up emotions just to sell papers and air time for their commercials.
We the People must learn to view the exaggerated events of the world within the context that it is presented. Yes, there are people out there who would like to kill someone. But we all know that it is a very small portion of the worlds population of how many billion people that live on this earth.
Let us keep our heads, and exert our energy where it does the most good to contain the real extremists.
Whereas in Public Law 105-235 (August 14, 1998), Congress concluded that
Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened
vital United States interests and international peace and security,
declared Iraq to be in ``material and unacceptable breach of its
international obligations'' and urged the President ``to take
appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant
laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its
international obligations'';
Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) expressed
the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United
States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi
regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to
replace that regime;
http://www.a-human-right.com
Oh well... I'm sure liberals are already clamoring to free the suspects - and blame the intended victim & his country for bringing this upon themselves...
There would be open warfare within weeks and I would remind you that, for all your private weapons, you were helpless in preventing 9-11.
Who founded the Shriners? What does the red fez signify? ... Does the Shriner pledge loyalty and fealty to Allah and Mohammed? ...
Candidates for induction into the Shriners are greeted by a High Priest, who says:
%u201CBy the existence of Allah and the creed of Mohammed; by the legendary sanctity of our Tabernacle at Mecca, we greet you.%u201D
The inductees then swear on the Bible and the Koran, in the name of Mohammed, and invoke Masonry's usual gruesome penalties upon themselves:
%u201CI do hereby, upon this Bible, and on the mysterious legend of the Koran, and its dedication to the Mohammedan faith, promise and swear and vow %u2026 that I will never reveal any secret part or portion whatsoever of the ceremonies %u2026 and now upon this sacred book, by the sincerity of a Moslem's oath I here register this irrevocable vow %u2026 in willful violation whereof may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to the center with a three-edged blade, my feet flayed and I be forced to walk the hot sands upon the sterile shores of the Red Sea until the flaming sun shall strike me with livid plague, and may Allah, the god of Arab, Moslem and Mohammedan, the god of our fathers, support me to the entire fulfillment of the same. Amen. Amen. Amen."
With this oath, Christians swear on the Koran, and declare Allah to be %u201Cthe god of our fathers.%u201D From the perspective of Christianity and Islam alike, Shriners take the name of God in vain, and mock both faiths.
Excerpt from The Origins and Influence of Masonry
by Lee Penn, SCP Journal Vol. 25:2-25:3 2001
Are you kidding, I'm a liberal FOR guns. But I'm not worried about using guns on terrorists. With the antics of the Bush administration these last six years, if there was ever a time we needed weapons to defend our civil liberties from an unjust government, it's now.
Alhambra, the name of this Shriner Temple, was the fortress of the Moorish Kings in 13-14th century. The Moors were Muslims from N. Africa who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th Century and were also the same inhabitants of Morocco who killed Christians described above. After the land was recaptured by Hispanic Christians, all professed Muslims were expelled. (Websters Encyclopedia)
Where does the money from the Shriner Circuses really go?
Shriners are well known for their famous Circuses where they claim to raise money for their burn hospitals. It is a little known fact, that they are really "using" the burn hospitals to accumulate great wealth for themselves!
In June, 1986, a daily newspaper in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel published a report on the Shrine hospital program. 98% of the money the Shriners raise in these circuses wasn't going to the hospitals. It went to the Shriners for their parties. Ninety-eight percent went to their little cars and their little boats and their temples, their little hats and stuff. 2% went to the hospitals.
The Orlando Sentinel writes "Estimates from available records also show that Shrine hospitals in 1984 received just 1 percent, or $182,000, of an estimated $17.5 million in profits from about 175 Shrine circuses. Only one of the 76 temples for which IRS records were available reported contributing any circus money to the hospital system."
Well it's rumored that Bush forced a girl to have an abortion when he was younger, what about that? He sure didn't do anything to stop abortion while republicans had COMPLETE control of the government.
Bush has done more for homosexuals than any other president, he has employed several in the white house (can you say karl rove) he had a male prostitute spending the night at the white house over 200 times, he has appointed homosexuals to top levels at the pentagon and other high positions in the government.
I'm all for capital punishment as well as long as there's no doubt at all that the person is guilty of murdering someone else. Fact is though they fry many innocent people, how many innocent people did your hero W kill?
You ever hear your hero bush ever say which "God" he believes that is? I guarantee you it isn't the same "God" you're thinking of...
Which party would Jesus join?
Now, I'm not a Jesus expert, but from what I know, it seems His teachings would be more in line with the Hippies. I would think most people would agree with me. And if that's the case, how do you square the teachings of Jesus with your own political views and, specifically, your interpretation of Muslims and Islam?
Or are you saying the Bible is "pick and choose"? In which case, why are some people's selective Bible choices "sinful" (aka, abortion) while others, like supporting the Iraq war, are not? Aren't both considered killing and both inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus?
Bush will try to claim credit,,,, Watch out.
But you are, everytime you justify the Iraq war because of the "evilness" of Muslims. This is a sin, is it not? Do you not recognize it as such? And if you do, why do you knowingly repeat it?
"Jesus wouldn't pick a "political party""
But say he did.
"He will judge the sins of ALL in the end. George Bush has admitted he is a sinner. Can you say the same?"
Sure can. I've pulled some doozies too though I'm pretty sure I never killed someone. But I try and not repeat the same sins over and over again. Usually successful, sometimes not (I'm a great believer in learnng from past mistakes). But Bush (and by proxy, those that support his views) seem intent on repeating the same sins over and over.
If you do not pick and choose from the Bible, I do not see how you can justify your view of war in Iraq. And if you admit you are knowingly sinning (as you imply with the sins of ALL comment), then why keep doing it? Are you repentent of this particular belief regarding Iraq and Muslims and seek God's forgiveness for it? And if you do or plan on doing so, why not just stop the behavior?
I'm not trying to pick on you, but religion and war have a funny way of mixing sometimes.
Well, no they didn't have the same information. For instance, the Dems did not have Bush's knowledge that the Iraq yellowcake story was false (even though Bush put it in his SOTU speech anyways). Apparently Bush had a politcal agenda too.
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