Britain Arrests More Terror Suspects Ahead of Olympics
A day after a security scare closed a major highway for hours but turned out to be a false alarm, British police officials reported Friday that they had seized seven men under counterterrorism laws, bringing the total number of arrests announced in the past 24 hours to 13.
The unusually high number of detentions reflected concerns that when the 2012 Olympics open in London in three weeks, they could become the highest-profile targets since the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
The authorities’ readiness to respond in strength to perceived threats was illustrated Thursday when police closed one of Britain’s major intercity expressways in a seven-hour alarm that drew in an armed counterterrorism unit, police helicopters, fire engines, ambulances and scores of emergency workers.
In the end, the cause of the scare seemed prosaic: A man traveling on a bus to London tried to use an electronic cigarette as an aid in quitting, causing another passenger who saw vapor to alert police by cellphone.
Earlier the same day, though, police in London announced the arrest of six people on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism and three of them were seized in east London close to the location of the Olympic stadium and village.