19 December 2017•Update: 19 December 2017
By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON
An investigation has been launched by British counterterrorism officials into a possible plot after the arrest of four men in northern England.
The men were arrested on suspicion of plotting an attack as investigators called in the army’s bomb disposal unit after police carried out a series of pre-dawn raids.
“A 31-year-old man was arrested from his home address in Chesterfield on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“Three other men, aged 22, 36 and 41, were arrested at addresses in Sheffield on suspicion of the same offence,” Derbyshire Police said in a statement.
“An additional address is now being searched in Stocksbridge, Sheffield in connection with these arrests. This takes the total number of properties to five; four in Sheffield and one in Chesterfield,” South Yorkshire Police said in an updated statement.
According to reports, residents in Sheffield woke to sound of loud bangs in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Others were evacuated from their homes as certain areas were cordoned off by the bomb squad.
MI5 has raised the threat level for extremist attacks to severe, meaning that an attack on U.K. streets remains imminent.
The latest incidences have occurred in light of five attacks that have occurred in the U.K. this year, four in London and one in Manchester.
