UK: Officers guard raided properties

The raids in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham saw officers swoop on an anonymous end-of-terrace house, an Islamic bookshop and a cybercafe.

Dozens of officers stood guard outside the three addresses today as forensic experts worked inside the properties in the inner-city district.

Standing opposite the Maktabah bookstore on Stratford Road, Councillor Tanveer Choudhry expressed shock that the premises was among those raided.

“I have used that shop before and I have never seen anything untoward,” he told the Press Association.

Mr Choudhry, a Liberal Democrat who represents the Springfield ward, said the staff at the shop were always polite and courteous.

“If the allegations are what they are then I am very, very surprised to be honest,” he added.

The metal shutters of the bookshop had been cut open by police while a neighbouring beauty shop was closed. Photographers worked inside the bookshop, where titles such as Heroes of Islam, Muslim Heroes of the World and A Day With The Prophet were on display alongside candles.

Passer-by Sohel Aslam had also visited the shop to buy story books for his five children.

The 37-year-old, from Leicester, told reporters: “There are a few places around which are quite extreme, but not this place.

“I used to get perfumes and stuff from there for my family and I am really shocked that this is going on.”

Residents in Poplar Road, a side street just yards from the bookshop, were reluctant to talk about the occupants of the house which had been sealed off or whether they had seen the police operation.

The third swoop in Sparkhill occurred about 800 yards further south along Stratford Road, close to the junction with Showell Green Lane.

A door at the rear of Blade Cybercafe and Communications, which led up a flight of stairs to what appeared to be a flat and a storage area, had been forced open.

Police could also be seen examining the inside of the cybercafe, which also offers mobile phone services, including repairs.