Not surprisingly, the six Pakistanis arrested by British authorities were connected to the Barcelona terrorist cell broken up last week. Here's the money quote, from Tory MP Patrick Mercer: "This intelligence shows the breadth and span of international terrorism and anybody who thinks that the threat has either gone or is in abeyance is in cloud-cuckoo-land." More:
SCOTLAND YARD is braced for a fresh wave of possible terrorist attacks against public transport after a group of suspected Islamist suicide bombers were arrested in a secret security operation at Gatwick airport.
Six Pakistani men were held under anti-terrorism laws 10 days ago after they flew in from Barcelona. The arrests were prompted by a tip-off from the Spanish intelligence services after the discovery of a suspected Al-Qaeda terror cell in the city. The cell is alleged to have planned to detonate suicide bombs on the Barcelona Metro. The Spanish warned a similar attack was being planned here.
The six Pakistanis were taken to Paddington Green police station in west London and were questioned by detectives from the Yard's counter-terrorism unit. After being held overnight they were driven under police escort back to the airport and escorted onto a flight back to Pakistan.
Soon after the arrests MI5's Centre for the Protection of National Infra-structure warned of a possible terrorist attack on bridges, tunnels and the Channel tunnel.
The Gatwick arrests followed an antiterrorist operation in Barcelona in which 12 Pakistanis and two Indians were held for allegedly planning bomb attacks.
More great work here by British counterterrorism officials. The British government's response to the jihadist threat, on the other hand, still leaves much to be desired.