Man Shot In London Anti Terrorism Raid
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:39 pm
Published -- June 02 2006 7:05AM CDT || CNN
LONDON, England (CNN) A man who was shot by police during an anti-terrorism raid in east London has been arrested in hospital, police say.
The 23-year-old man was held on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard said.
He was shot once during a raid by more than 200 officers, some wearing chemical protection suits, at a house in Forest Gate at 4 a.m. on Friday. A second man, aged 20, was arrested during the raid.
Neighbors described seeing a man wearing a bloodstained T-shirt being carried out of the house following the raid.
The man's injuries are not life-threatening, the Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed.
Officers described the operation as "intelligence-led" and said a search warrant had been executed under Britain's Terrorism Act.
They said the operation was not linked to last July's suicide bomb attacks on London's transport system which killed 52 commuters.
"At this stage there is nothing to suggest members of the public in the immediate area are at risk," police said.
Officers in protective clothing -- including protective suits and rubber boots -- were sent to the house and nearby roads were sealed off.
White and yellow tents were erected in front of the house. Four ambulances and 10 police vans were parked nearby.
Police were still wearing protective suits and rubber protective boots over their shoes eight hours after the raid, but residents had not been evacuated.
Police said the operation followed close liaison between security services and biochemical experts from the Health Protection Agency.
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QUOTECNN's Paula Hancocks, at the scene, said: "Police are not commenting on why they are wearing such heavy protective clothing. They say it is just precautionary."
Security expert Will Geddes said: "This operation is evidence that ongoing surveillance is going on across the country -- not only by the security services, but Scotland Yard and other groups working together to try and detect any cell activity or anything that could indicate a repeat of the horrific events of last year."
Britain has been on high alert since the attacks last July 7 when four Britons blew themselves up on three underground trains and a double decker bus.
Two weeks later police said they foiled an identical plot.
London police Commissioner Ian Blair has said three terrorism plots have been thwarted since the July bombings and that groups were planning further attacks.
Friday's shooting is the first during an anti-terrorism operation since police shot dead Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes last July as he boarded an underground train in south London after officers wrongly identified him as a suspected suicide bomber.
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