Three men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism in Greater Manchester.
Warrants were executed by officers in Bolton, Great Lever, Abram and Hindley around 7.30pm on Wednesday, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said. The men, aged 35, 36 and 51, were arrested at separate locations on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
They were taken into custody for questioning and the addresses were being examined, police said.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts of GMP, responsible for counter-terrorism policing in the north-west, said: “Today’s activity has been the culmination of much detailed planning and we have put measures in place to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible.
“I understand that any time arrests of this nature are made it will cause concerns and people will naturally have questions.
“Although we can’t go into specific details of the investigation at this stage, I want to reassure members of the public that we do not currently believe there to be any wider threat linked to today’s activity.
“Further detail will be released where appropriate as the investigation progresses.”
