Good job there was no five in the noggin

Spike · June 9, 2006

Two held in terror raid released

Two men arrested after a raid on a house in east London have been released without charge, Scotland Yard said.

Police questioned two brothers, one of whom was shot during the raid, on suspicion of terrorism involvement.

Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20, both denied the allegations. They were held after a major raid in Forest Gate last Friday.

Police were said to be searching for chemical materials, but nothing has been found. The search is now complete.

The men, who had been held under the Terrorism Act 2000, were released shortly before 2030BST on Friday.

Anti-terror police raided the house at Forest Gate last week after saying they received "specific intelligence" that a chemical device might be found there.

As the men were released, a police spokesman said that officers had completed their search of the raided property in Lansdown Road.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We appreciate the police operation has caused inconvenience and disruption to the occupants of the house.

"We will be contacting the owners to make appropriate arrangements for the property to be handed back to them. "We will also be undertaking appropriate restoration work in consultation with the owners."

The statement added that intelligence received by police "continues to be developed" and that the Met Police "will continue to exhaust all lines of inquiry".

Station protest

Inayat Bunglawala, from the Muslim Council of Britain, said the raid looked to have been a "terrible mistake".

"Today's decision to release the two brothers without charge confirms their innocence," he told the BBC.

He said the raid had created quite a bit of unease in the Muslim community - particularly amongst the younger generation.

"We do hope that the appropriate lessons will be learned by all involved in this tragic incident... the release of these two brothers may go some way to undoing the damage caused," he said.

Earlier on Friday, around 100 people gathered outside Forest Gate police station to protest about last week's raid. They chanted slogans and waved plaques condemning the police and government.

Protest organisers claimed the raid was symptomatic of oppression of the Islamic community.

One of them, Anjem Choudary, said: "When you start to violate the sanctity of Muslims and their homes, and handle their mothers and fathers then there is going to be some kind of backlash."

Earlier, Humeya Kalam, the sister of the two brothers, criticised the police action.

In a statement, issued by Ms Kalam on behalf of her family, she said: "On the morning of Friday 2 June 2006, my family were awakened by what can only be described as barbaric and horrific actions taken against an innocent family."

She also thanked "each and everyone in the community for their tremendous support".

Kahnee · June 9, 2006

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