Indian-origin man, 3 others arrested for Syria-related terrorism offences

LONDON: A man of Indian origin has been arrested by the police in UK on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences. Moazzam Begg, an ex-Guantanamo detainee who was born in Birmingham to a family of Indian descent is among four people who were arrested by the West Midlands police on Tuesday. Begg is suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas. The others—a man aged 36 from Shirley, plus a woman aged 44 and her son aged 20 from Sparkhill—were detained on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas. All four are being held at a police station in the West Midlands area. Their home addresses are being searched by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit. Vehicles and electronic equipment are being removed for forensic analysis. Head of investigations, detective superintendent Shaun Edwards, said: "All four arrests are connected. They were pre-planned and intelligence-led. There was no immediate risk to public safety. We continue to urge anyone planning to travel to Syria to read the advice issued by the Foreign Office". Over 400 British-based extremists have gone to Syria over the last two years and just over half have returned to the UK. In recent weeks, ministers have been told that about 250 Britons who went to train and fight in war-torn Syria are now back in the UK, with the conflict described as a magnet for jihadi activity. The Birmingham arrests follow reports of what is thought to be the first instance of a British-based jihadist staging a suicide attack on a Syrian government prison in the country. Abdul Waheed Majeed, 41, is suspected of being responsible for driving a lorry into a jail in Aleppo and detonating a bomb earlier this month. He is among an estimated 20 Britons who have been killed in the fighting in Syria. source: Times of India