Britain Arrests Four Suspects for Plotting Terror Attacks

Four detained in Britain on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks. (Reuters)
Four detained in Britain on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks. (Reuters)
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Britain Arrests Four Suspects for Plotting Terror Attacks

Four detained in Britain on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks. (Reuters)
Four detained in Britain on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks. (Reuters)

British police arrested on Tuesday four men on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks.

Police sent a bomb disposal team to a house in northern England after officers carried out pre-dawn raids to arrest the suspects.

Three men, aged 22, 36 and 41, were held after raids at their homes in Sheffield and a 31-year-old was detained at an address in nearby Chesterfield. Officers then cordoned off one of the houses and evacuated local residents as bomb experts arrived and searches were carried out.

“The arrests were intelligence-led and pre-planned as part of an ongoing investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East and (domestic security agency) MI5,” West Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

They added: “The public may have heard loud bangs at the time police entered the properties. We would like to reassure them that this was part of the method of entry to gain access.”

The men have not been charged and were not identified.

There were no details about what the men were suspected of planning. They are being questioned on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The official terrorist threat level for Britain is "severe," indicating an attack is considered highly likely.

Britain saw five attacks in London and Manchester this year, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd said earlier this month that authorities have foiled nine terror plots since March.



Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS

A Russian rocket put an Iranian communications satellite into space on Friday, Iranian state media reported, the latest achievement for an aerospace program that has long concerned Western governments.

"The Nahid-2 communications satellite was launched from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz rocket," state television said.

Weighing 110 kilograms (over 240 pounds), the satellite was designed and manufactured by Iranian engineers, the broadcaster added.

Western governments have long expressed concern that technological advances made in Iran's space program can also be used to upgrade its ballistic missile arsenal, AFP reported.

The launch was announced shortly before nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany opened in Istanbul.

In December, Iran announced it had put its heaviest payload to date into space, using a domestically manufactured satellite carrier.

In September, Iran said it had put the Chamran-1 research satellite into orbit using the Ghaem-100 carrier, which is produced by the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division.