9 Held In Alleged U.K. Terror Plot

Police unveiled a major kidnapping plot, the first of its kind in Britain, with the arrest of nine terror suspects Wednesday in a plan that reportedly involved torturing and beheading a British Muslim soldier and broadcasting the killing 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 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.

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.

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.

Twelve houses and four business — including two Muslim bookstores and an Internet cafe — were cordoned off in the raids in Birmingham, which opened fresh divides in the city's predominantly Pakistani neighborhoods.

"People don't trust their own children any more," said Shabir Hussain, chairman of the Ludlow Road Mosque in Birmingham, a city of 1 million in central England.

"You feel like you should challenge your son or daughter: 'Where are you going at night? What are you watching on TV? What are you doing on the Internet?'" he said.

Last year, a man was shot by police in London during a raid, sparking complaints from Muslim communities across the country.

Mohammed Majid, 30, watched as police barged into the house before dawn.

"At 4 a.m. I heard a loud bang. I looked through the window and thought it was a fire. I saw anti-terrorism police with shields and guns. They broke windows and doors and raided the place. The took an (South) Asian man with a beard who was in his 30s away in handcuffs. He looked dazed."

Counter-terrorism experts say Islamic extremists are looking for new ways to rattle the West with their use of the Web to broadcast propaganda and unsettling images such as the beheadings of Western hostages in Iraq.

One widely publicized kidnap-slaying was that of 62-year-old Kenneth Bigley from Liverpool. He was abducted in September 2004 from a Baghdad suburb and beheaded three weeks later. His death was captured on video.

London's counterterrorism officers had never before dealt with a terrorist plot to abduct and murder, a police spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The Irish Republican Army and other Northern Ireland paramilitary groups routinely conducted kidnappings, mainly for the purpose of extortion — often targeting family members of those with access to banks, British military installations and police stations.

"The police and government seem to be against Muslims and are trying to turn us against one another," said Kadir Mohammad, 18, who lives in one of the raided neighborhoods.

Britain's MI5 has said it set up a network of eight new regional offices in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S, including one in central England.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman declined to comment on the police operation.

Sky TV reported that British investigators contacted Pakistani intelligence agents four days ago about the plot. The Foreign Office would not confirm there were such discussions.

In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said British authorities confirmed there was no Pakistan connection.