Earlier Tuesday morning, a police bomb squad pulled over at a property in Chesterfield where a group of would-be terrorists had assembled an improvised explosive device. Thus far, five properties have been raided by anti-terror police. Four of which are in Sheffield in a joint operation conducted with the domestic intelligence wing of the British government known as MI5. Four men have been apprehended in relations to the incident and taken to West Yorkshire station to be questioned.
The Islamic State, formerly referred to as ISIS has warned of possible attacks directed toward Christmas markets in the UK. A tied and bloodied Santa Claus as purported by recently released propaganda videos online.
An investigation is already launched and a thorough sweep of the electronic gadgets of the suspects and the properties they were found in, could reveal clues as to the depth of this terror plot.
Exactly one year ago, a vehicle was used in a Christmas in Berlin, Germany to plough into a crowd killing pedestrians and instilling fear across Europe during the festive seasons.
Police believe this was a planned attack they have foiled and urge city dwellers to be cautious as they go about their regular daily activities. Coming at this time of the year is deeply concerning. Additional security has been heightened across the United Kingdom and the appeal for calm. Two of the biggest Christmas markets outside of Germany are found in the UK cities of Birmingham and Manchester.
Benson Neba
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
