London Terrorist Threat: 2 Suspects Arrested in London
London police have detained two British Muslim converts on suspicion of terror offenses Thursday, a U.K. security official told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said it wasn’t clear whether the arrests were related to the upcoming Olympic Games. Security is tight ahead of the London games, which begin on July 27.
“This doesn’t appear to be a big investigation, but it’s still early days,” he said, downplaying the importance of the arrests.
Scotland Yard identified the men as an 18-year-old and a 32-year-old, but didn’t give their names. The force said in a statement the pair was arrested early Thursday at separate addresses in east London.
A man who identified himself as a friend of the detainees identified the 18-year-old as Jamal ud-Din and said the older man was someone he knew only as “Zakariya.”