ALERT: United Kingdom- Man Carrying Knives Near Parliament Arrest on Terror Suspicions (April 27, 2017)

April 27, 2017

Earlier today, a man was arrested near the Houses of Parliament in London. The man is alleged to have been planning to carry out a terror attack with knives. The suspect was arrested in Whiehall before he could carry out an attack.

According to The Guardian:

A suspected terrorist attack was thwarted in central London on Thursday after armed police arrested a man who is alleged to have been carrying knives near the Houses of Parliament. The afternoon arrest followed a tense intelligence operation that had earlier identified the man detained as being of concern to counterterrorism investigators. His movements were being tracked.

The scene where the man, aged 27, was arrested is metres away from where Khalid Masood attacked Westminster bridge and the parliamentary estate five weeks ago, leaving five people dead, including himself. Masood used a vehicle to mow down pedestrians before stabbing a police officer to death.

The suspect in the latest incident was seen pinned to the ground after his arrest at 2.22pm as armed officers stood over him. Shortly afterwards forensic experts could be seen examining the ground where at least one knife had fallen on to the the road.

The man, believed to be from the London area, had come to the attention of MI5 and Scotland Yard’s counterterrorism command. Investigators believe he may have been about the launch an attack and he was stopped by armed officers in a “targeted” stop and search. The suspect is believed to have been acting alone, and the investigation will try to establish what his targets may have been.

Given the location of the arrest, investigators believe one possibility was an attack on the Westminster or Whitehall areas. Past Islamist propaganda has called for attacks on civilians or symbols of power. Security is especially tight around Whitehall following last month’s attack.

Police said the arrest came at the junction of Parliament Street and Parliament Square, barely 30 yards from Westminster Bridge. Police said in a statement: “A man has been arrested in Whitehall this afternoon, at approximately 14.22, following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation. The man was arrested in Parliament Street … by armed officers from the Met’s specialist firearms command.

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