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Police foil two major 'terror plots' within hours in dramatic counter-terror ops

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu speaks after two terror plots foiled within hours of each other: PA
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu speaks after two terror plots foiled within hours of each other: PA

Police smashed two suspected terror plots within hours of each other in dramatic counter-terror operations in the capital, Scotland Yard said.

A woman in her 20s was shot as police stormed a terraced house in Willesdon north-west London on Thursday.

She was rushed to hospital where she remains in serious condition.

Six other people, including a 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences during and following the raid.

This came just hours after a man “carrying a bag of knives” was tackled yards from the Houses of Parliament as part of an ongoing operation.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard on Friday morning, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the Willesdon raid was carried out as part of an “active” counter terrorism investigation.

The senior national co-ordinator for counter terrorism said CS gas was fired by officers during the raid, which was carried out just before 7pm.

Met deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu speaks to the media outside New Scotland Yard (PA)
Met deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu speaks to the media outside New Scotland Yard (PA)

He said: “An armed entry was necessary due to the nature of the intelligence that we were dealing with, and involved armed officers firing CS into the address.

“During the course of that operation one of the subjects of that operation a woman - was shot by police - she remains in hospital.

“Her condition is serious but stable. Because of her condition she has not yet been arrested. We are monitoring her condition closely.”

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been informed of the events.

As part of the active operation, three London addresses – including the one in Harlesden Road – are being searched by police.

Five people were arrested at the north west London house, and another in Kent.

A man and woman, both aged 28, were arrested as they returned to the address following the armed police swoop.

Terror raid: The police operation in Willseden (Twitter/@kieranmckenna1)
Terror raid: The police operation in Willseden (Twitter/@kieranmckenna1)

Mr Basu said he believes police have “contained the threats they posed” to the public.

A witness to the raid, who wished to remain anonymous, said he heard three gunshots and described seeing a "squad" of armed police descend on the street.

Having gone to the flat upstairs to watch the drama unfold, the man said he saw armed officers running up the street and surrounding the property in question.

"They brought down a woman, a lady, in a black scarf, a black burka," he said.

"Then on the road, close to our house, we saw she had been shot - the paramedics and ambulances that were there, they stripped off her clothing to get access to the wounded areas."

Questioned about her injuries, he said the woman had been carried out of the house on a stretcher and that she had bandages on her left arm and on the left side of her stomach.

In the first of yesterday’s suspected terror-related incidents, a 27-year-old man was detained on Parliament Street just after 2.20pm. No one was injured.

Armed police descended on the area as the road, near to Westminster Bridge, was sealed off.

Tackled: Armed police surrounded the man (Twitter/@3213dev)
Tackled: Armed police surrounded the man (Twitter/@3213dev)

Photos showed a police cordon surrounding a bag, which had been discarded on a road traffic island.

Armed police were seen detaining the bearded suspect, who was dressed in dark clothing, before wrestling him to the ground.

Police detain a man following the incident in Whitehall. (EPA)
Police detain a man following the incident in Whitehall. (EPA)

He was then seen pinned up against the wall of the HMRC offices being questioned by police before he was taken away in a police vehicle.

Mr Basu said police across the country have been making arrests in connection with suspected terrorism offences “almost every day” following the Westminster attack.