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| Radical preacher Anjem Choudary among nine held for supporting banned terrorist group | Radical preacher Anjem Choudary among nine held for supporting banned terrorist group |
| (1 day later) | |
| Anjem Choudary, the radical activist and co-founder of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, was arrested today as efforts intensify to disrupt the ideological backers of young British Muslims travelling to fight in foreign conflicts. | Anjem Choudary, the radical activist and co-founder of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, was arrested today as efforts intensify to disrupt the ideological backers of young British Muslims travelling to fight in foreign conflicts. |
| Mr Choudary was among nine men held on suspicion of supporting a banned terrorist group and encouraging terrorism. The arrests came shortly after Mr Choudary fired off a series of angry tweets after David Cameron called on MPs to back air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. | Mr Choudary was among nine men held on suspicion of supporting a banned terrorist group and encouraging terrorism. The arrests came shortly after Mr Choudary fired off a series of angry tweets after David Cameron called on MPs to back air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. |
| The arrests follow a sharp increase in raids by counter-terrorist officers, according to campaigners, after a speech by David Cameron announcing stronger measures to tackle suspected extremists. | The arrests follow a sharp increase in raids by counter-terrorist officers, according to campaigners, after a speech by David Cameron announcing stronger measures to tackle suspected extremists. |
| The authorities have come under pressure to act against Mr Choudary, a trained lawyer, whose inflammatory statements have been scrutinised by police but have not broken any laws. | The authorities have come under pressure to act against Mr Choudary, a trained lawyer, whose inflammatory statements have been scrutinised by police but have not broken any laws. |
| FACT: The war being waged by the US/UK & co is a war against Islam & Muslims. The objective is to take Muslims away from the Shari'ah(Islam) | FACT: The war being waged by the US/UK & co is a war against Islam & Muslims. The objective is to take Muslims away from the Shari'ah(Islam) |
| FACT: US/UK interest in Syria/Iraq is not to defend people but to establish their own economic military strategic and ideological interests | FACT: US/UK interest in Syria/Iraq is not to defend people but to establish their own economic military strategic and ideological interests |
| Al-Muhajiroun, which he founded with Omar Bakri Mohammed and which advocates the establishment of an Islamic State in the UK, was banned in 2010 and has changed names several times to avoid prosecution. The group has a near 20-year history of encouraging terrorism, and one in five Islamism-inspired terrorists in the UK had links to the group, according to the Henry Jackson Society think-tank. However, critics point out that only three successful prosecutions have been made against supporters of such banned groups. | Al-Muhajiroun, which he founded with Omar Bakri Mohammed and which advocates the establishment of an Islamic State in the UK, was banned in 2010 and has changed names several times to avoid prosecution. The group has a near 20-year history of encouraging terrorism, and one in five Islamism-inspired terrorists in the UK had links to the group, according to the Henry Jackson Society think-tank. However, critics point out that only three successful prosecutions have been made against supporters of such banned groups. |
| “The arrests are a welcome sign that the Government is taking the threat of extremist ideology seriously and beginning to effectively use the tools already available in the fight against terrorism in the UK,” said the think-tank’s researcher Hannah Stuart. | “The arrests are a welcome sign that the Government is taking the threat of extremist ideology seriously and beginning to effectively use the tools already available in the fight against terrorism in the UK,” said the think-tank’s researcher Hannah Stuart. |
| She suggested the officers could have made the arrests if “Jihadi John”, the suspected British militant who killed two American hostages on video, had been identified. | She suggested the officers could have made the arrests if “Jihadi John”, the suspected British militant who killed two American hostages on video, had been identified. |
| New details have emerged of Ibrahim Kamara, the 19-year-old believed to have become the first British fighter killed as a result of US airstrikes in Syria. Mr Kamara’s mother claimed that her son had “met the wrong people” and was quickly radicalised. He travelled to Syria with a group of Brighton brothers to fight with the Jabhat al-Nusra group in Syria. One of the three brothers, Abdullah Deghayes, was killed in April. The brothers are related to Omar Deghayes, who was held at Guantanamo Bay for five years before he was released without charge. | New details have emerged of Ibrahim Kamara, the 19-year-old believed to have become the first British fighter killed as a result of US airstrikes in Syria. Mr Kamara’s mother claimed that her son had “met the wrong people” and was quickly radicalised. He travelled to Syria with a group of Brighton brothers to fight with the Jabhat al-Nusra group in Syria. One of the three brothers, Abdullah Deghayes, was killed in April. The brothers are related to Omar Deghayes, who was held at Guantanamo Bay for five years before he was released without charge. |
| Dr Abuljalil Sajid, an imam who was ousted as head of a mosque after a power struggle with radicals in Brighton, said he had helped authorities extradite eight extremists from the city after the terror attacks of 7 July 2005. He said he had passed details of visits to the city by Mr Choudary and reported that Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, found guilty of supporting terrorism at a US trial this year, had also visited the city. | Dr Abuljalil Sajid, an imam who was ousted as head of a mosque after a power struggle with radicals in Brighton, said he had helped authorities extradite eight extremists from the city after the terror attacks of 7 July 2005. He said he had passed details of visits to the city by Mr Choudary and reported that Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, found guilty of supporting terrorism at a US trial this year, had also visited the city. |
| The Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremist group, said that al-Muhajiroun had set up stands in Brighton to seek supporters. “There’s often such a lot of [anti-extremism] focus on London that [other places] are forgotten,” said Jonathan Russell of Quilliam. | The Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremist group, said that al-Muhajiroun had set up stands in Brighton to seek supporters. “There’s often such a lot of [anti-extremism] focus on London that [other places] are forgotten,” said Jonathan Russell of Quilliam. |
| The rights group Cage said it had documented 11 counter-terrorism raids in the past fortnight in London, without anybody being charged with terror offences. In the arrests police searched 18 addresses across London and one in Stoke-on-Trent. | The rights group Cage said it had documented 11 counter-terrorism raids in the past fortnight in London, without anybody being charged with terror offences. In the arrests police searched 18 addresses across London and one in Stoke-on-Trent. |
| “Al-Muhajiroun was proscribed four years ago and they’ve been promoting their views on Newsnight, said Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a spokesman for Cage. | |
| “It’s no secret why [the police chose] this of all days” – the eve of a Commons vote on airstrikes in Iraq. | “It’s no secret why [the police chose] this of all days” – the eve of a Commons vote on airstrikes in Iraq. |