Monday, December 27, 2010

US embassy in London was a target of UK suspects

The US embassy in London was a target of a group of men arrested last week in Britain and charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and preparing acts of terrorism, the US State Department said.

Twelve men were arrested on Dec. 20 in what British police said were counter-terrorism raids essential to protect the public from the threat of attack.

Three were later released without charges, leaving nine who appeared in court to face the charges.

Asked if he was aware of reports the suspects indicated that the US embassy in London was on their target list, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters: "I am aware and ... obviously our folks in London are aware of this."

The suspects were from London, the Welsh capital of Cardiff and the central English city of Stoke.

A British police statement said the men had conspired to cause "explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property".

It added they had been downloading material from the Internet, researching and discussing potential targets, carrying out reconnaissance and "igniting and testing incendiary material".
The police statement did not specify what the potential targets were.