2 Released In U.K. Terror Plot
Police Have 3 Days To Charge Remaining 7 Suspects In Alleged Kidnap Plot
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Play CBS Video Video 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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Video 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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Video 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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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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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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Police forensic officers arrive at a cordoned off grocery store in Birmingham, England Wednesday 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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Police forensic officers search a grocery store in Birmingham, England Wednesday Jan. 31, 2007. (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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Photo Essay U.K. Kidnap Terror Arrests British police arrest 9 men accused of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism.
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Interactive 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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Interactive Global Terror Major terrorist organizations, the FBI's most wanted and facts and photos from recent attacks.
West Midlands Police on Tuesday had gained court permission to extend the interrogation of the suspects who were arrested in raids in Birmingham.
News reports claimed the men were suspected to planning to kidnap, torture and behead a British Muslim soldier.
After the two men were released, their lawyer Garth Pierce said they left "without any better understanding of why they were there than when they first arrived seven days ago."
"Not a word was ever mentioned to either of them about a plot to kidnap or the gristly suggestion of a beheading or even of a soldier at all. Both have been met with a consistent refusal over seven days for any explanation for their arrest," Pierce said.
"They are convinced that others in the police station must be as innocent as they and urge that they also be swiftly released."
Detectives were granted a further 72 hours on Tuesday to question the remaining seven suspects.
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.
Many British Muslims believe the arrests were 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.
© 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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