Two UK Teens Held Under Suspicion of Terrorism

Local Editor

Two teenagers from North West England had been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism following two separate raids, police report.

A 14-year-old boy from Blackburn and a 16-year-old girl from Manchester had been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation, according to Greater Manchester Police. They had been bailed until May 28.

Police said the boy was arrested on "suspicion of preparing for an act of terrorism" and the girl "on suspicion of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism."

The mother of the school girl downplayed her daughter's role in the alleged terror plot, telling authorities that the teenager "had been playing a joke."

"I am not sure what happened. I think she might have been playing a joke with a friend," she stated.
The girl's computer and mobile phone had been confiscated by the authorities for further analysis.

However, the latest arrests were not connected to the nine British nationals from nearby Rochdale who were arrested trying to cross the border into Syria from Turkey, police said.

Nor was there a link to the six people, [five men and one woman in their twenties], who were arrested in a ferry terminal in Dover in relation to the Syrian conflict.

Police had been given until next Friday to question them, before they release or charge them, or had to apply for more time so that further questioning can be conducted.

While the cases might not be linked, they illustrated the increasing number of terrorist-related arrests in recent months across the UK, as young men and women tried and join "ISIL" extremists in Syria.

It was believed that up to 600 Britons had joined "ISIL", including the high-profile "ISIL" executioner Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team