UPI : 12 in custody for British terror plot

12 in custody for British terror plot

April 10, 2009

MANCHESTER, England, April 10 (UPI) -- Police in the English city of Manchester say 12 suspects are in custody in an alleged terror plot to bomb local shopping centers.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said 11 of the suspects are Pakistani nationals and one is a Briton. He also said 10 homes were searched for clues to suspected terror attacks planned for Easter weekend, The Daily Telegraph said Friday.

The suspects were all arrested Wednesday.

"It could have been the next few days (for the suspected attacks) and they were talking about 10 days at the outside," one unidentified source said. "We had to act."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he intends to open a line of communication with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari regarding potential terror attacks.

"We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan," Brown said. "That is an important issue for us to follow through, and that's why I will be talking to President Zardari about what Pakistan can do to help us in the future."

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