Man held in raid was detained on Syrian border in 2015
By Nicola Harley and Martin Evans A 21-YEAR-OLD man arrested during a counter-terrorism raid in north London in which a woman was shot by police was detained in Turkey two years ago but never charged.
Mohamed Amoudi was one of six people arrested when counter-terror police raided a house in Willesden on Thursday evening as part of an operation to interrupt an “active plot”.
In 2015, the former Queen Mary University physics student was stopped with two sixth-form students as they travelled along the Turkish border with Syria. It was alleged that the two 16-year-old boys had been influenced by Mr Amoudi, after making contact with him on social media. All three were arrested and returned to the UK to face questioning, but were subsequently cleared and faced no charges.
The raid in London on Thursday came just hours after a man carrying a bag of knives was arrested in Westminster on suspicion of terrorism offences. Police said the two incidents were completely unrelated.
During the Willesden raid, a woman in her early twenties was shot and wounded by officers, and was last night in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
Eyewitnesses told how the woman, who was dressed in Islamic clothing, shouted “don’t touch me” as paramed- ics fought to save her life. Mr Amoudi was understood to have been arrested close to the house when anti-terror officers boarded a bus on which he and a female companion were travelling.
Around 30 minutes later, armed police surrounded the house in Harlesden Road and after firing CS gas canisters inside, stormed the flat.
A 16-year-old boy and a woman, 20, were arrested at the property in the raid, while a man and woman, both 28, were detained when they returned later that evening. A woman, 43, was arrested later at an address in Kent. They were all being questioned on suspicion of terrorism offences.