Sheffield terror arrests: No link to London attacks, say police

Specialist officers swooped to arrest a man at a block of flats in Kelham Island last Thursday evening. They also arrested a man in Huddersfield during a similar operation conducted at the same time.

The men, aged 24, and 29, are both from Huddersfield and were arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act - which relate to a person intending to commit "acts of terrorism, or assisting another to commit such acts."

A spokesperson for the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, which led the operation, said there are no links to the terror attack in the capital on Saturday, which left seven people dead and 48 wounded. The three attackers were shot dead eight minutes after launching the attack.

Police had previously confirmed the Sheffield and Huddersfield arrests had no links to the Manchester terror attack in May, in which 22 people were killed by a device detonated by suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

The NECTU was on Saturday granted warrants of further detention to continue questioning the two men arrested in Sheffield and Huddersfield.

This is due to expire tomorrow and police will be faced with either charging the suspects, releasing them or applying for more time to keep them in custody for further questioning.

Following these two arrests, a 23-year-old Sheffield man was also arrested by counter-terrorism officers on suspicion of assisting an offender. He has since been released under investigation.

The NECTU said they cannot comment on the nature of any suspected plot.

The three men responsible for the London terror attack have been named as Khuram Butt, aged 27, of east London, Moroccan-Libyan Rachid Redouane, aged 30, who had been living in Dublin, and 22-year-old Moroccan Youssef Zaghba. They ploughed into pedestrians in a van before getting out and stabbing people.

Police have since made 15 arrests across London and the Republic of Ireland in connection with the attack.