Police in London, Canada arrest suspected terrorists

LONDON -- A raid on an east London house where anti-terrorism police shot and wounded a man was prompted by fears that a suspect had built a bomb designed to release a cloud of toxic chemicals, British police said Saturday.

Officers, many in protective clothing, were still conducting a detailed search of the row house where two brothers were detained Friday, police said. Police also searched the workplaces of the two men Saturday.

"We don't know yet if there is a device, but it is the focus of our searches and of the intelligence we had," said a police official, who agreed to discuss the case only if not quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the operation. "Intelligence indicated it may have a chemical component, possibly involving a toxic gas."

The official said the two arrested men both had criminal records, but had not previously been investigated by anti-terrorism officials.

Neither brother was believed to have links to the London transit bombings that killed 52 people last July or to any other known terrorist plot in Britain, the official said.

Lawyers for both men said their clients denied involvement in terrorist activities.

Police have declined to release details about the men. But their lawyers and neighbors in their ethnically mixed neighborhood described them as British-born Muslims and brothers.

A British judge has given police authority to hold the men for questioning until Wednesday. Authorities could then apply for a further extension.

A 23-year-old man was under guard at Royal London Hospital while being treated for a shoulder wound and was expected to be released from the hospital today, police said. The other man, 20, was in custody at the high-security Paddington Green police station in north London.

Julian Young, an attorney for the younger man, denied any involvement in terrorism.

Kate Roxburgh, lawyer for the injured man, said her client also denied being involved in terrorism and said he was "lucky to still be alive."

"He wasn't asked to freeze, given any warning and didn't know the people in his house were police officers until after he was shot," she said.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said an inquiry into the shooting -- standard procedure in Britain -- had begun.

Peter Clarke, head of the anti-terrorism branch of London's Metropolitan police, said Friday's raid was ordered in response to information about a "specific threat" that "demanded an intensive investigation and response."

He said forensic examinations at the house could continue for several days.

About 300 police, some armed and some wearing protective chemical, biological and radiological suits, took part in one of the largest raids in the capital since last July's transit attacks.

Neighbors voiced anger Saturday at what they called heavy-handed police tactics during the raid on a home where they said a man, a woman and their four teenage children live.

A family who rent a next-door home from the raided family said that they also were detained by officers and charged that one family member suffered injuries. The three men, a woman and an 8-month-old baby were held for 12 hours without charge, they said in a statement.

"We are completely innocent and in no way involved in any terrorist activity," the family said in the statement, issued through a community group, the Newham Monitoring Project.