U.K. Terror Plot Details Emerge

British Media Report Target Was Muslim Soldier In 20s, But May Have Not Been Only One

(CBS/AP)  Police on Thursday questioned nine men arrested in an alleged kidnapping plot that reportedly involved torturing and beheading a British Muslim soldier and broadcasting the act on the Internet.

The alleged plot, said by British media to mirror the brutal killings of foreign hostages in Iraq, was in its final stages and was uncovered during a six-month surveillance operation by anti-terror officers in this city of more than 1 million in the heart of England, police said.

The soldier believed to be targeted in the kidnapping was a lance corporal in his 20s who was on home leave after serving in Afghanistan, The Guardian newspaper reported, without giving the source of its information. Police and Britain's MI5 intelligence service believe militants planned to bundle him into a van as he walked along the street, the newspaper said, adding that he was in police protective custody along with members of his family.

But Britain's Sky News reported Thursday that as many as 25 people may have been targeted for abduction and execution in the plot, according to anonymous police sources. Sky did not say if any of the other alleged 25 were active military service members.

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.

The nine suspects, believed to be British men of Pakistani descent, were arrested in a pre-dawn raid Wednesday on homes and businesses in several Birmingham neighborhoods, which were mostly Pakistani. On Thursday, police continued to search the buildings.

The suspects are believed to have drawn up a list of Muslim soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, London's Times newspaper reported, citing unidentified security officials. The suspects had narrowed their targets to a shortlist of three men, the newspaper said.

Police would not confirm reports from the British Broadcasting Corp. and other media that the intended victim was a British army soldier to be killed in an "Iraqi-style" execution and broadcast on the Internet.

West Midlands Police Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw described the case as a "very, very major investigation" which would take "days, if not weeks."

"The threat from terrorism remains very real," he told reporters in Birmingham on Wednesday.

The suspects were arrested under the Terrorism Act, which gives police a maximum of 28 days to hold them in custody. They were being held at police stations in the West Midlands.

Sky News spoke to the brother of one of the men apparently arrested during the raids, and he complained that the suspect's family was distraught, having been given no information as to his whereabouts or why he was being held.

Several thwarted terror plots have involved Britain. A British Muslim pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up landmarks including the New York Stock Exchange. In 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.

But the alleged 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.

Britain's 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 News.

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.

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.

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.

On Thursday, the Daily Mail newspaper quoted Hashmi's brother, former British soldier Zeeshan Hashmi, 27, as saying that if the terror plot is confirmed, it would be a crime "with no justification" that would have repercussions on Muslims worldwide.

"What I would say to the extremists is that extremism does not help change anything. If you really want to make a change and be effective, I would say it's best to be part of the system and work peacefully within, not be outside it," Zeeshan was quoted as saying.

During the raids in Birmingham on Wednesday, 12 houses and four business — including two Muslim bookstores and an Internet cafe — were cordoned off.

The raids opened divides in the city's predominantly Pakistani neighborhoods, where some residents complained that British media reports about the alleged plot were subjecting them to unfair criticism and suspicions.

Other residents were frightened.

"It's mad, crazy. You wouldn't expect terror suspects round here," Michael Lucid, 21, said Thursday.

[jimibear]

"highly winnable one", I meant to say.

I support fighting terrorism, and capturing or killing terrorists. I do not support the mass slaughter of innocents, which leads to the hatred of the entire Arab world being directed toward us.

[jimibear]

(cont.)

Had we stayed in Afghanistan and gone after Bin Laden, which everyone (including Arab countries) supported, the War on Terror would be a highly winnable won, and in cooperation with the governments of even Muslim countries. As it is, Bush is well on his way to starting a full-scale war with every country in the Middle East, a war we could not possibly win, and has alienated all of our possible allies.

Why did we not finish the job in Afghanistan, where we know Al Quaeda was based? Why did finding Osama go from (to quote Bush) "our number one priority" to "not all that important"? Why did we invade Iraq, when they had not attacked us and did not have the means to, and we knew this?

Simple. The second largest oil reserves in the world are there.

You don't win a war on terror by mass slaughter. You win it by international cooperation and going after the terrorists cell by cell and camp by camp. This is not a war on terror; it's a war for oil, and terrorism is being used as an excuse.

Bush is an evil, greedy and stupid man. The fringe Muslim terrorists did not have the means to bring our country down. The combined might f every Muslim country certainly could, though, and that is where this mess is headed. Bush is the worst president in history. He cares for nothing but the wealth of him and his.

[jimibear]

jj034, that would be a great plan if we restricted our efforts to going after and capturing or killing terrorists. Unfortunately, the Bush administration in all its arrogance, greed and stupidity has used terrorism to invade a country which was not involved in 9/11 and had no known ties to Al Quaeda, and where there were no WMDs. (As has now been discovered, the administration knew all of this, and cherry-picked intelligence or outright lied to Congress to get authorization for the war.)

Since then we have either killed or indirectly caused the deaths of approximately 500,000 Iraqis, the vast majority of whom would never have thought of attacking the US. We have thus stirred up the hatred of the Arab world, and turned terrorism from a campaign of hatred by a fringe of nut jobs to a growing, spreading movement fuelled by righteous anger at our murderous tactics.

The numerical result has been, according to Israeli intelligence, who have every reason to want the war on terror won, that Al Queada alone has approximately 10,000 new recruits as a result of anger over our invasion of Iraq. World-wide, about 5 times as many terrorists are now actively working against us as before the war.

[jj034]

Once again this is a story of the type of thing that will be going on within our borders if the fight is not taken to the terrorist where they reside; Iraq, Aphganistan, Iran. This is a war in which we must be victorious. The reality of these types of stories showing up on the nightly news here at home, when it is our own citizens being kidnapped and posted on the internet, is a reason to me to continue fighting and win this war.

[j-whitman]

Hamilton,,, It looks like it is being addressed in the UK,, They aslo have much higher taxes to pay for it...

We on the other hand have had Hezballah crossing our souther bordrer, we don't address our radical religions,, & want more tax cuts ????? HELLOOOO

[yorkieuk1]

hamiltongrad - how do you propose to "encourage the Brits to confront their enemy within"? Most, if not all, of those arrested are British citizens for a start, so they can't be expelled. And they're only a tiny minority: there are as many Moslems in the UK as in the USA (a country with a population 4 -5 times as big). As for needing enouragement from across the pond, well hhere's a joke I heard on TV here recently: "We've got to thank the USA for teaching us how to tackle terrorism. If they'd not funded the IRA for 30 years, we'd have no ****ing clue!"

[saransk]

Why is it the Muslims, and for all intent and purposes, only the Muslims who feel this kind of extreme act is justified.
Even the Irish didn't extend this senseless terror during the height of the "troubles."
If the Muslim community in England or the US doesn't like the acts of the government let them use the legal means to change that government - as minorities have done for years. Or else let them return to the Muslim countries they profess to love and want to live in. I'm sure after a few years in any of the oppressive religous regimes that pass for governments in most Middle East Muslim countries they will wonder why they ever left England.
If they don't want to accept the laws and life in England or the US - THEY SHOULDN'T BE LIVING THERE!!!

[antoniof123]

Some people are just crazy and there is nothing you can do. If these people are terrorist then I am glad that the British got them if not they will spend a few days in jail.

[bluestardad]

Bush is going to say the Iranians did it and trump the Arab League peace talks next month with an attack on Iran!