Two arrested in Hull and Sheffield in Italian terror blitz

They were detained under European arrest warrants by officers from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit and West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit on Thursday morning.

The two are aged 38 and 52, and were held at addresses in Hull and Sheffield respectively.

Two other men were arrested in Derby and Birmingham.

A spokeswoman for the North East CTU said: “The arrests have taken place this morning in connection with this operation under European arrest warrants.

“The four men will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court as part of the process.

“We understand that people may be concerned following today’s arrests, however we would like to reassure communities that today’s activity is as a result of an ongoing investigation which is intelligence-led.

“There is no evidence to suggest that communities are at risk.”

The arreste came as police in Italy issued 17 arrest warrants for Iraqi Kurds on terrorism-related charges in a Europe-wide blitz.

General Giuseppe Governale told RAI state radio that the operation involved investigations in Britain, Norway, Finland, Germany and Switzerland.

The ANSA news agency said the suspects are accused of international terrorism association. A news conference is being held later in the day with Italy’s top anti-terrorism officials

Meanwhile, Norway’s security service PST said that a jailed Iraqi-born cleric and two other people have been arrested on suspicion of their involvement in a terror plot in Italy.

A PST spokeswoman said Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, known as Mullah Krekar, and two others face a court hearing in Oslo on Friday and possible deportation to Italy.

Last month, Ahmad was sentenced to 18 months in jail for praising the killing of cartoonists at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had made fun of Islam and other religions.

He was also found guilty of urging others to kill a Kurdish immigrant in Norway in the same interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Earlier this year, Ahmad was freed after nearly three years’ imprisonment for making death threats.

The 59-year-old Kurd, who came to Norway as a refugee in 1991, was convicted in 2005 for a similar offence.

Norway and the United States have accused Ahmad of financing a defunct Iraqi Sunni insurgent group called Ansar al-Islam. It reportedly merged with Islamic State last year.

Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg said “if this means that Krekar leaves Norway, that’s fine”.