FIVE men were arrested today in a series of anti-terror raids across Birmingham.
Specialist counter-terrorism officers swooped on five separate addresses in Sparkbrook, Hodge Hill, Ward End, Bordesley Green and Aston shortly after 6am to detain the men.
West Midlands Police said the men, aged 29 to 36, were held on suspicion of “being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism”.
It is understood the men had been under surveillance for some time prior to today’s swoops.
The police spokesman stressed the operation was not in response to any immediate plot or threat to the public.
But the force declined to disclose the precise focus of the investigation.
“This action comes as a result of a long and complex investigation by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit,” the spokesman said.
“It is not related to any immediate plot or threat to public safety and police are not currently seeking anyone else in relation to these arrests.
“The families of the men are being supported by specially trained officers, and key community leaders in the relevant areas have been contacted.”
One of the addresses raided was in Benton Road, Sparkbrook.
Sobat Khan, 65, said his 29-year-old son factory worker Mohammed Shabir was taken away by police.
Mr Khan, who has lived in the house for 25 years and shares it with his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, said: “The police came in and arrested my son. But he’s never done anything wrong, he never goes out and no one ever comes to the house.
“Ask everyone in the area if my son has been in trouble and they will tell you he is a very quiet person who has never done anything bad.”
He added: “My grandson is very scared. He was shouting ‘My dad, where are you taking my dad?’”
As part of the investigation, a further residential address in Stechford and two business properties in central Birmingham and Kenilworth, Warwickshire, were also being searched.
MP Khalid Mahmood (Labour, Perry Barr) said: “From what I understand they have been under surveillance for a considerable amount of time.
“There was some sort of plot, the details of which are unclear, but it was something that did not pose an imminent threat to the public.
“They have been able to track these people for some time and this should give confidence to the community the police and security services are doing a fantastic job.
“This has been a sensible approach by the counter terrorism people in the West Midlands. They need the continued support from the community.”
Following the raids, community representatives were contacted by police to enlist their help to reassure the public.
Sparkbrook Respect Coun Mohammed Ishtiaq said he was told a raid had been carried out on one house in his ward but did not know whether anyone was arrested at the premises.
“I had a phone call from the police in the early hours of the morning,” he said.
“Nobody even knows about this because it’s all very low key.”
Coun Salma Yaqoob (Respect, Sparkbrook) said she was informed of five arrests, one of them in her ward of Sparkbrook, and added: “I was just told it was not about an imminent or future threat but that it was relating to an ongoing or past investigation.”
The West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit was officially launched in April last year and forms part of a network of regional hubs to investigate groups threatening the country.
It achieved prominence two months earlier after an investigation into a plot to kidnap and behead a soldier and also supply equipment to terrror groups on the Afghan-Pakistan border led to the arrest and conviction of a number of individuals.
In July, the unit said they had stopped a “credible threat” to the public after a Syrian man Hassan Tabbakh, 38, of Camelot Way, Small Heath was jailed for seven years attempting to make bombs in his Birmingham flat.