LONDON (AP) -- British police arrested two terror suspects, including one believed to have links to al-Qaida, Britain’s home secretary said Thursday.
The 24-year-old man was arrested in Gloucester, western England, after police evacuated 119 nearby homes and cordoned off three roads out of fear he may have had explosives, authorities said.
``It is the belief of the security and (police) Special Branch services that this man has connections with the network of al-Qaida groups,’' Home Secretary David Blunkett told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
``We would not have taken these steps if we did not believe that this individual posed a very real threat to the life and liberty of our country.’'
Police also arrested a 39-year-old man in Manchester, northern England, on suspicion of terrorist offenses.
London’s Metropolitan Police, whose anti-terrorist officers participated in both operations, would not disclose the suspects’ nationalities or the allegations against them.
The suspects were arrested under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, the Gloucestershire and Greater Manchester police forces said.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said officers also searched two addresses in Blackburn, northwestern England, but made no arrests there