Eight men, aged 17 to 32, remained in police custody on suspicion of “being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism” following dawn raids on Tuesday on 24 locations, police said. Britain’s top anti-terrorist detective, Peter Clarke, said there was no connection between the raids and the March 11 train blasts in Madrid, which left 191 dead. The eight suspects, all British citizens, reportedly were of Pakistani origin, prompting the leader of Britain’s main Muslim group to encourage mosques to help police tackle terrorists. Iqbal Sacranie, of the Muslim Council of Britain, sent a letter written before the arrests to more than 1000 mosques saying: “Islam categorically forbids violence and killing of innocents, let alone indulging in violence which can cause death and mayhem.”
