Im surprised this hasnt already been mentioned here, so far though their only suspects, so we will have to wait and see the outcome.
Anti-terror police quiz suspects
Fertiliser found at a storage unit is being analysed by forensic officers
Eight men have been arrested across south-east England amid intelligence suggestions a plot to bomb civilians may have been foiled.
The suspects, all aged from 17 to 32, are being questioned at two high-security police stations in London.
More than half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertiliser was seized from a self storage unit in west London.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the raids followed the infiltration of extremist groups.
About 700 officers from five forces carried out searches at 24 premises early on Tuesday morning, following weeks of surveillance.
The men arrested, all British citizens, are believed to be of Pakistani descent.
Ammonium nitrate, the fertiliser seized from the lock-up in Boston Road, Hanwell, west London, can be mixed with other chemicals to create a powerful explosive.
Mr Gardner said sources had told him the alleged targets of any bombing were not military or government but members of the public.
Mr Gardner said: “The success of today’s operation is, I’m told, partly due to the successful penetration or infiltration by the intelligence services of extremist Islamist circles.”
The raids were coordinated by the Met Police’s terror branch
He said police had traced the source of the ammonium nitrate but had not revealed the details.
The investigation was now proceeding along two lines, he said: the questioning of the eight suspects by anti-terrorism officers from Scotland Yard and forensic examination of material seized in the raids.
He described a mood of “restrained jubilation” among security services who believed they had stopped a plot at an early stage.
Head of Scotland Yard’s terrorist branch Peter Clarke said warrants were issued under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Peter Clarke’s statement
The men are being questioned on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Two were arrested in Uxbridge, west London, three in Crawley, West Sussex, and one each in Ilford, east London, Slough, Berkshire, and Horley, Surrey.
Surrey Police said the 18-year-old man arrested in Horley had been found at a Holiday Inn hotel near Gatwick Airport.
There were also raids at houses and businesses in Colindale, north London, Luton and Reading.
Mr Clarke, who is national co-ordinator of terrorist investigations, said premises were still being searched by forensics teams.
He assured the Muslim community the police knew the “overwhelming majority are law abiding and completely reject all forms of violence”.
“We have a responsibility to all communities to investigate suspected terrorist activity,” he said.
He said the operation was not linked to the bombs in Madrid and there had been no danger to the public.
Mr Clarke said: “Today’s operation is part of continuing and extensive inquiries by police and the security service into alleged international terrorist activity and I must stress that the threat from terrorism remains very real. The public must remain watchful and alert.”
Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, claimed the Muslim community was being “demonised” as a result of such raids.
He said: "These raids are usually given a lot of importance when they are taking place, but when people are released without charge, it is not news.
“It is creating a deception in the minds of ordinary people that we have a bigger problem than we really have,” he added.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said: “We all share the considerable thanks to the security service and the counter terrorism branch, who have done a first class job and have been doing a first class job in securing our safety and security.”
Ammonium nitrate was used in the Istanbul bombing last year, the Bali attack in 2002 and is believed to have been used by al-Qaeda in an attack on the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998. It was also used in the Oklahoma bombing in 1995.
AMMONIUM NITRATE - THE FACTS
Millions of tons produced each year for use as fertiliser
Sales of the fertiliser are tightly restricted in the EU
Mining companies mix small amounts of explosive grade ammonium nitrate with fuel oil to create explosives
It is “not impossible” to make explosives with fertiliser grade
Used in several IRA bombings
Also used in the Bali and Oklahoma City bombings