By DPA,
London : British police has arrested three men in northwestern England on the suspicion of violating terrorism laws, authorities said.
Two of the suspects were detained at Manchester Airport and the third near the town of Accrington. Police said they were searching their homes in Blackburn.
All three men are believed to be in their 20s, but police released no further information on the charges.
A police statement said the arrests were a joint operation between the Lancashire Police and Greater Manchester Counterterrorism Unit.
Accrington councillor Doreen Pollitt, cited by the Press Association news agency, expressed surprise at the arrest, saying: “The majority of our community here are Kashmiri. We have never had any problems and have a very good relationship with the Kashmiri community.”
Manchester Airport management assured passengers that the arrests had no effect on airport operations.
“It is a total police operation, and we didn’t even know that it had happened until afterwards,” Bill Crawshaw, terminal duty manager, told the Press Association.