BBC : Where terror raids took place

Where terror raids took place

April 10, 2009

Armed officers from the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit arrested 12 men under the Terrorism Act in Liverpool, Manchester and Clitheroe on 8 April.

The raids took place at 10 locations on Wednesday. An additional address in north Manchester was being searched by police on Thursday 9 April as police searches continued at other locations.

MANCHESTER ARRESTS

Five men were arrested in north Manchester in the Cheetham Hill area of the city in an operation that involved hundreds of police officers.

One witness said she saw a man being dragged down Galsworthy Avenue by "four or five" police officers. Bushar Majid, who lives next door to the raided home, said the house was rented and there were always people coming and going.

"There were about six or seven men living there for the last six months. Some were aged 45 to 50, others were aged in their 20s. They used to go to the local Al Falah mosque daily," she said.

Two men were arrested at an internet cafe and shop on Cheetham Hill Road. Mesu Raza, an unemployed man from Pakistan who lives in a flat above the cafe, said: "I saw police arrest two people and put them in a police van."

Another arrest took place on the M602 motorway.

LIVERPOOL ARRESTS

The arrest of one man in Liverpool's John Moores University was captured on video. Students were told by staff to stay inside and away from windows for their own safety.

"When I looked I saw a man on the floor. Police were shouting at him and one of the officers had what looked like a machine gun pointed right into his head," said journalism student Daniel Taylor.

Five men in all were arrested. Three at an address in Cedar Grove where a witness said police took several men out of a house and put them in a van and drove away. Another was arrested at a flat above a shop in Earle Road. Two addresses at Highgate Street are also being searched by police.

CLITHEROE ARRESTS

Up to 100 officers swooped on the Homebase store in Clitheroe, in Lancashire. Police also raided a guest house in nearby Pimlico Road. An eyewitness said: "About 50 vehicles filled the car park and the police stormed in and quickly brought the two men out. They seemed to know who they were looking for. It looked a well planned operation."

Adam Howarth, who lives across from the Brooklyn guest house said: "I saw about 15 officers go in the front and the back of the house. It was a bit of a shock. You don't expect this to happen in a market town."