[Chris]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe...sts/index.html

RMINGHAM, England (CNN) -- A major anti-terrorism raid in the UK was intended to foil a plot to kidnap a Muslim soldier serving in the British Army, and behead him, according to a security source.

Police arrested eight people during a series of early-morning raids in Birmingham, central England, early Wednesday, according to statements released by police and the Home Office.

The Home Office said the eight were arrested in Birmingham by West Midlands police under the country's anti-terrorism laws.

The arrests did not involve a plot to cause mass casualties, but instead the kidnap of a British Muslim soldier who has served in Afghanistan, a senior security source told CNN.

Once kidnapped, the attackers allegedly planned to videotape the torture and execution of the soldier for later publication on the Internet.

Media reports said the plot would have involved an "Iraq-style" execution.

Former Scotland Yard commander John O'Connor said: "This is a major breakthrough in thwarting what seems to be a genuine and terrifying potential crime. These are not the kind of people that take hostages."

Security sources said this new plot style signals a major departure from previous attacks by terrorists in Britain, who have used coordinated explosions aimed at killing and injuring the masses.

Instead, the attack would have mirrored the kidnappings of hostages Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan -- both Britons murdered by Iraqi insurgents.

According to West Midlands Police, the eight suspects were arrested on "suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000."

"A number of addresses in Birmingham have been secured and sealed off and are currently being searched by officers from West Midlands Police and Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit," West Midlands police said. (Watch police cordon off raided homes)

In addition to searching homes, police have also been searching several businesses, including a mobile phone store and a book shop, reported CNN's Paula Newton in Birmingham, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of London.

This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face," the Home Office said Wednesday.

Security services believe a terrorist attack is highly likely in Britain. An attack on London's public transport in 2005 killed 52 people, and the country is on its second highest alert level.

Last year the head of MI5, Britain's domestic spy service, said that about 30 terrorism plots were being worked on and agents were monitoring around 1,600 suspects.

On January 23, British police arrested five men in terror raids across northern England. (Full story)

Two of the men -- Rizwan Ditta, 29, and Mohammad Bilal, 25, both from Halifax -- were charged Monday under the Terrorism Act 2000. The other three men are still being questioned by the Greater Manchester Police.

[Popsyche]

What a bunch of friggin' knuckleheads! If I understand, they were going to kill this soldier for participating in actions as a British soldier?

[HighGain510]

Guess they really DON'T have anything better to do. Crap like this is terrible....

[stuz719]

The worry is that some in the local community are suggesting (ever-so-slightly) that the police may have been heavy-handed, there is no evidence, the guys have been arrested but not charged (yet?) etc., etc., with a sort of veiled 'we're being picked on again' agenda.

Sorry, but would people who think that the Muslim community is being somehow unfairly targetted please confirm that had this alleged atrocity (against a fellow Muslim) been carried out they would not be calling for the perpetrator(s) to be caught and brought to justice? Or would they be suggesting that the police were not bothering because somehow the life of a Muslim is worth less than the life of a non-Muslim?

It's important to prevent acts like the one allegedly being planned, not close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

We need restraint on all sides here, particularly in an area that has always had a very positive approach to integration from all sections of the community, and has really made an asset out of its cultural diversity.

Let's not let fear, suspicion and a willingness to embrace martyrdom (in the sense that one feels self-pity and sees unjust persecution everywhere) destroy what has taken so long to build up.

[distressed_romeo]

Jesus fucking christ...

Not sure what else to say right now...

[Leon]

the interesting thing to me is that they were going to post it on the internet. it's an obvious move these days, but it's amazing at how a few people, completely off their rockers, can damage political visions with only an internet hookup.

[Lozek]

Former Scotland Yard commander John O'Connor said: "They had detailed files on human anatomy", prompting a journalist to reply " I guess that would make it easier to kill them"

Seriously though, I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm really not.

[7 Dying Trees]

10 ears ago it was hardline Irish Republican Army and whatnot. Now it's hardline extremist Muslims.

Everything stays the same, just the f(e)aces change