From The Telegraph (with thanks to Alan):
Two men were arrested at Manchester airport last week as they prepared to leave the country and a third, the brother of one of the other men, was detained in Accrington, Lancashire where he worked as a security guard.
Counter-terrorism sources said the arrests related to a statement which appeared on an Arabic language website called al-ekhlaas.net, which often carries messages from senior members of al-Qaeda.
Counter-terrorism sources said the arrests related to a statement which appeared on an Arabic language website called al-ekhlaas.net, which often carries messages from senior members of al-Qaeda.
The message, written in English, appeared only briefly on January 24, and claimed to be from Shaykh Umar Rabie al-Khalaila, "The leader of al-Qaeda in Britain."
In it, he demanded the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and the release of prisoners from Belmarsh high security jail in south east London including the radical clerics Abu Hamza al-Masri and Abu Qatada.
Qatada was later released after an Appeal Court ruling and put under house arrest.
It is understood the men had been under surveillance by police and two were arrested as they prepared to leave the country for Finland.
The message demanded: "We, the organization of Al-Qaeda in Britain, offer a truce to the British government.
"Our demands are as follows:
"I. A complete withdrawal of the British troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
"II. To free all Muslim captives from Belmarsh prison, and the foremost of them Shaykh Abu Qatada al-Filistini and Shaykh Abu Hamza al-Misri [sic]."
Referring to the leader of al-Qaeda and a man said to be the leader of the "Islamic state of Iraq" the statement went on: "If the British government fails to respond to our demands by the last day of March 2008 as they fail to answer to the truce of our Shaykh Usama bin Laden and to the truce of the Emir of Believers Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, then the Martyrdom seekers of the organisation of al-Qaeda in Britain will target all the political leaders especially Tony Blair and Gordan Brown [sic], and we will also target all Embassies, Crusaders Centers and their Interests through out the country, with the help of Allah."
It signed off: "Finally, all praise is to Allah. " ...
