ARMED COPS FOIL XMAS BOMB PLOT
Four men arrested amid fears that massacre was ‘imminent’
POLICE have smashed a suspected Islamic bomb plot they fear would have led to a Christmas massacre.
Four men were arrested in dawn raids in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
Officers are investigating a suspected bomb-making factory above a chip shop in Chesterfield.
A witness said of one armed raid in Sheffield: “It was chaos.”
NEIGHBOURS yesterday told of the dramatic moment police blew off the door of a home in a raid on terror suspects.
The property was one of several that armed officers swooped on to smash what they believe was an Islamic Christmas bomb plot targeting one of Britain’s cities.
Among them was a suspected explosives factory above a chip shop in Chesterfield, Derbys.
They were ordered after intelligence chiefs believed an attack was “imminent” and “one or two bombs” were being made.
The door was blown off a property in Meersbrook, Sheffield, at 5.30am, where a 41-year-old man was arrested.
Psychology student Lizzie Fogarty told how she was woken up by the blast. The 27-year-old said: “I was fast asleep and I heard an enormous bang. It shook our flat and shook the flats up the road too. We watched it all.
“It was absolute chaos. All you could hear was, ‘Get down, get down’, ‘get down.’ I could hear them sweeping the house.
“You could hear them bashing around as they made their way up to the top floor. I heard everything. Even the cable ties being put on.
“It’s insane. We moved here from London a few months ago for a calmer life and this happens.”
Lizzie told how police aimed high-powered guns with torches at the house. She also said men had been “always coming and going” to the property in recent weeks.
During the morning, four men were arrested and five properties raided amid fears hundreds of people were to be targeted in a festive massacre.
It is believed the plot centred on a flat above the Chesterfield chip shop. The Army’s bomb disposal unit were called in and at least six streets cordoned off. A 31-year-old man was arrested at the property and led away in his underpants.
Tesco night worker Jordan Batteson saw the aftermath of the 5am raid as he walked home. He said: “I could see him sat in the back of the police van.
“He wasn’t wearing anything on top and only had his pants on.”
Neighbour Simon Fox, 22, added: “We’ve seen the Army, police from all over, we’ve seen a couple of packages being removed by the bomb disposal unit. You don’t
expect this to happen in such a small town.” It is not believed any assembled devices were taken away in the raid. Residents were evacuated to Chesterfield Town’s football ground.
The Counter Terrorism Policing North East unit, urged the public to “remain alert but not alarmed” after the drama. It said: “The men have been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire for questioning.
“The arrests were intelligence-led and pre-planned as part of an ongoing investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and MI5.” A spokeswoman added: “We were supported by firearms officers during the arrests but no shots were fired.
“The intelligence indicated arrests needed to be made today.”
The other two men held, aged 22 and 36, were seized in a private student flat above a community centre in Burngreave, Sheffield. A spokesman for the charity said the pair moved in about two or three months ago. But he added: “The tenants are not related to us. The centre is against everything bad. We are always working with the police. We are just a community centre. We open our doors to help people learn the language and pray five times a day. That’s it.” Around three hours later, police visited a barber’s shop in nearby Stocksbridge.
Owner Mohammed Ojaky said officers took away CCTV. The Kurdistan-born 31-year-old added: ‘They showed me details of a man and said they were looking for him and thought he was connected to here.
“I gave them details of all my staff but I did not know this man. He was from eastern Europe. The man they were looking for is not Kurdish. I was happy for them to search here and let them into the flat, but they then left.” All four men held in the raids were arrested on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism. A Whitehall source said: “The operation was intelligence-led but remember MI5 and the police do not always have a full intelligence picture. “However if there is suspicion a device is being made or something is about to happen and enough evidence has been gathered then arrests will be made.” MI5 officers are stretched to the limit, tracking 3,000 terror suspects and dealing with a severe terror threat that means an attack is “highly likely”. Police allegedly thwarted a similar plot in December last year when a gang were suspected of plotting to blow up several Christmas markets.
All you could hear was, ‘Get down, get down.’ LIZZIE FOGARTY WHO WAS WOKEN BY THE RAID