Searches continue over ‘Christmas terror attack plot’

Counter-terror officers are resuming their searches of two properties today as part of an operation to foil a suspected Islamist Christmas atrocity on the UK. Armed officers and an Army bomb disposal squad were involved in raids at five locations in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire on Tuesday (December 19). Three men, aged 22, 36 and 41, were detained at different addresses in in the Burngreave and Meersbrook areas of Sheffield and a 31-year-old man was arrested in Chesterfield. All four suspects were detained on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The cordon around one of the properties – the Fatima Community Centre on Brunswick Road in Burngreave – was extended on Tuesday afternoon and the bomb disposal unit attended. Searches at Burngreave in Sheffield and at a house in Chesterfield will continue later on Wednesday (December 20). Detectives have confirmed the arrests were “intelligence-led and pre-planned” as part of an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East. Derbyshire`s Assistant Chief Constable Bill McWilliam said his advice to the public is to “remain vigilant”, adding that “it is no different to our day-to-day advice in the current climate”.