Police officers stand guard as a van carrying men charged with conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court
LONDON, U.K - Nine men will appear in a London court Monday charged with plotting one or more bomb attacks in Britain, a week after police arrested them in a series of pre-dawn raids across England and Wales.
They have been charged with plotting an explosion -- or explosions -- "of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property" between October 1 and November 20 this year, said police.
Britain is on high alert after having upgraded its perceived terror threat level earlier this year to "severe." This is the second highest on a five-level grading, indicating that a terrorist attack is "highly likely," according to the Home Office, Britain's interior ministry.
The threat level was hiked in January after a six-month spell at "substantial" -- the only time it has dipped below the two highest levels since it was set up in 2006, following the London bombings in July 2005.
Those attacks on three Underground trains and a bus killed 52 people, plus the four suicide bombers, who were all British nationals.
LONDON, U.K - Nine men will appear in a London court Monday charged with plotting one or more bomb attacks in Britain, a week after police arrested them in a series of pre-dawn raids across England and Wales.They have been charged with plotting an explosion -- or explosions -- "of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property" between October 1 and November 20 this year, said police.
The men were also charged with involvement in the preparation of an attack by having downloaded and researched methods and materials, and scouted potential targets, said the police statement. The suspects had also tested incendiary materials, said police.
Sue Hemming, of the counter-terrorism division of Britain's prosecution service, confirmed the charges in a statement.- The nine would be charged with "conspiracy to cause explosions" and preparing "acts of terrorism" with the intention of either committing the acts themselves or helping others to do so. Lawyers from her division had been working closely with the police from an early stage, she added.
On December 20, police arrested a dozen suspects in England and Wales, aged between 17 and 28, detaining them "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK."- The arrests were made in the Welsh capital Cardiff; in the central English town of Stoke-on-Trent, in Britain's second city Birmingham in the English West Midlands, and in London.
- Hemming said prosecutors had decided to file the charges after having reviewed evidence provided by the West Midlands counter terrorism unit. A bombing in Stockholm earlier this month has heightened concerns in Britain because the man thought to have been the bomber was based there.
- The man blew up himself and his car in a busy district of the Swedish capital.
Britain is on high alert after having upgraded its perceived terror threat level earlier this year to "severe." This is the second highest on a five-level grading, indicating that a terrorist attack is "highly likely," according to the Home Office, Britain's interior ministry.The threat level was hiked in January after a six-month spell at "substantial" -- the only time it has dipped below the two highest levels since it was set up in 2006, following the London bombings in July 2005.
Those attacks on three Underground trains and a bus killed 52 people, plus the four suicide bombers, who were all British nationals.
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