Two arrested in England with alleged connections to Canadian bomb plot

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Counter-terrorism police has arrested two males, aged 16 and 21, in England.

The two are accused of having connections to a Canadian bomb plot in which 17 people were arrested in Toronto on June 3. The alleged plot included plans to bomb and takeover the Canadian Parliament, take Military Police officers hostage and bomb public buildings. It also included beheading Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The Times quoted an anonymous security source as saying, "We believe that people living in the UK played a pivotal role in helping to organise this series of planned attacks. This is an example of the extremist soup we have in this country with lots of overlapping links."

"The operation did not involve armed officers," said the Manchester Police department.

Police say that the 21-year-old came from Canada and arrived at Manchester Airport in England yesterday while walking off a plane. Police also say that he lived with some of the suspected terrorists arrested in Toronto. He is said to be of Pakistani descent and may have citizenship in the United Kingdom.

The 16-year-old was arrested in West Yorkshire a few hours after the 21-year-old was arrested. Police say that they tracked him down via cellular phone records and documents found in Toronto.

Police say that the two males are connected and that a security alert was issued when authorities learned the 21-year-old male had left Canada.

The names of the 2 suspects have not yet been released. Police have searched at least 4 homes in Dewsbury, Hanover Square and Bradford in England.

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