London Police Foil Terror Plot Aimed At Remembrance Sunday Celebrations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Four men are now behind bars, accused of plotting a terror attack in London.
Officers from the London Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command arrested the suspects overnight Thursday into Friday.
Three of the men were arrested in raids at their homes in West London and Thames Valley, and the fourth was arrested on the street in West London by armed officers, London police said.
According to authorities, the men planned to attack this weekend during celebrations for Remembrance Sunday – the memorial day in the U.K. for the anniversary of the end of World War I, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.
Queen Elizabeth II is expected to attend this weekend's ceremonies, but at this point police don't believe she was the intended target of the alleged plot.
Scotland Yard has been very tight-lipped about the arrests, but said the four men are 19, 22, 25 and 27 years old, and could have ties to ISIS, Gold reported.
Police are searching the suspect's homes as they continue to question the men.
The raid came just one day after London Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe met with NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton at One Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan to talk about how terror can manifest itself in big cities around the world.
The radical Islamic terror group ISIS has issued a call for "personal jihad" against targets in the West, and recent convert Zale Thompson is accused of attacking four cops with a hatchet in Jamaica, Queens.
At the meeting, law enforcement leaders from across the Northeast and across the Atlantic Ocean talked about how terror can manifest in their respective cities
"Things are changing in different parts of the Middle East. These are things that actually materialize on the streets of our countries and we have to work together to deal with that," Hogan-Howe said at the meeting.
The "Operation Sentry" conference focused on officers collaborating to fight "lone wolf" terrorism,such as October's attack on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.
"To fight a network, you need a network. And the 'Sentry' program brings together our network," NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller said Thursday.
Bratton said it's vital to build trust with communities, so people feel comfortable reporting their suspicions and concerns.
Police presence across London has been stepped up following the raid, and a police car was stationed outside the British Consulate at 845 Third Ave. in Midtown East Friday night.
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