LONDON - Mosques and Muslim leaders across United Kingdom are on high
alert after fake anthrax was posted to five mosques by suspected
far-right extremists. Detectives from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism
Command are investigating after imams at the mosques received bags of
white powder.
One package, sent to the London’s Finsbury Park mosque, also contained blasphemous caricatures similar to cartoons published in Denmark. TheNation has learnt that up to five other mosques in pockets of extremism outside London - thought to be Luton and Birmingham - were targeted in the past 10 days. Scotland Yard is so concerned about the threat to community cohesion that it has sent a warning to more than 200 mosques in the capital. An email from the Association of Muslim Police warns staff to avoid touching any mail they deem suspicious.
It says: "The inquiry relates to suspicious but non-hazardous packages sent to mosques. Inquires are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. We recognise the distress and disruption caused by such incidents and will continue to investigate them, and any others which come to light, robustly.
"Anyone receiving an item they think is suspicious should treat it seriously and follow the following advice: Call 999; 1. Do not touch or handle it any further; 2. Remain calm; 3. Move everyone away to a safe distance; 4. Safely communicate instructions to staff and public; 5. Ensure that whoever found the item or witnessed the incident remains on hand to brief the police."
Detectives are studying hours of CCTV footage as many of the packages did not have stamps and are thought to have been hand-delivered to the mosques. Some of the mosques were evacuated while specialist officers in protective suits checked the suspect material. When a package arrived at the Finsbury Park mosque last Thursday, police closed the building and surrounding roads for four hours.
One package, sent to the London’s Finsbury Park mosque, also contained blasphemous caricatures similar to cartoons published in Denmark. TheNation has learnt that up to five other mosques in pockets of extremism outside London - thought to be Luton and Birmingham - were targeted in the past 10 days. Scotland Yard is so concerned about the threat to community cohesion that it has sent a warning to more than 200 mosques in the capital. An email from the Association of Muslim Police warns staff to avoid touching any mail they deem suspicious.
It says: "The inquiry relates to suspicious but non-hazardous packages sent to mosques. Inquires are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. We recognise the distress and disruption caused by such incidents and will continue to investigate them, and any others which come to light, robustly.
"Anyone receiving an item they think is suspicious should treat it seriously and follow the following advice: Call 999; 1. Do not touch or handle it any further; 2. Remain calm; 3. Move everyone away to a safe distance; 4. Safely communicate instructions to staff and public; 5. Ensure that whoever found the item or witnessed the incident remains on hand to brief the police."
Detectives are studying hours of CCTV footage as many of the packages did not have stamps and are thought to have been hand-delivered to the mosques. Some of the mosques were evacuated while specialist officers in protective suits checked the suspect material. When a package arrived at the Finsbury Park mosque last Thursday, police closed the building and surrounding roads for four hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment