More terrorist arrests in UK

Hot on the heels of my post yesterday regarding Al-Qaeda plots in the UK we get this report from The BBC.

Police are continuing to question 10 people arrested following a series of anti-terror raids.
Six men and one woman were held in Manchester and three others elsewhere.

"This is working against the background that we've never had a such a high level of threat from terrorism in the United Kingdom since some time before Christmas," ACC Whatton said.

Details are pretty sparse but one thing that caught my eye was one of the business under investigation is a mobile phone shop. The Madrid bombers were traced to a mobile phone shop based on a mobile phone found in one of the unexploded backpacks. Which by the way had been mistakenly taken to a police station when the police thought it was one of the victims bag. Lucky escape.

The BBC seem to be not giving this story much attention. It is not their lead article on their website. Their article is listed third down on the right sidebar as of this writing.

The Sun Newspaper in their online version give the arrests far more attention. Bear in mind The Sun is a tabloid newspaper and anything football (soccer in the US) is big news to them.

Here is some of what the Sun is reporting.

A SUICIDE bomb plot to kill thousands of soccer fans at Saturdays Manchester United-Liverpool match was dramatically foiled yesterday.

Armed cops seized ten terror suspects in dawn raids.

Intelligence chiefs believe al-Qaeda fanatics planned to blow themselves up amid 67,000 unsuspecting supporters. A source said: The target was Old Trafford.

They had already bought the tickets for various positions in the stadium, cops revealed last night.

More than 400 police swooped yesterday after a major terrorist figure under surveillance moved to Manchester. Police and intelligorganizationstions believe he came to direct the massacre, which would have been the first al-Qaeda-style outrage in Britain.

I don't know where they get it or how accurate the Sun's information is but there is more on their website. Some radio news is now carrying the Manchester football connection.

Meanwhile over in the US Ridge Forms New Terrorism Task Force according to Fox News.

Beginning with the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington over Memorial Day weekend, a series of high-profile public events this year might make attractive targets for Al Qaeda (search) and like-minded terrorist groups, Ridge said during a speech to the Radio Television News Directors Association and Foundation in Las Vegas.

Be vigilant, be safe.