British police were granted two more days last night to question eight men arrested in raids across southern England this week that led to the seizure of a large quantity of bomb-making material.
Detectives will be able to quiz the men, British citizens aged 17 to 32 and reported in the British press to be Muslims of Pakistani origin, until Tuesday morning when they can apply for further extensions under British laws.
The men were arrested and a half tonne of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, a key bomb-making ingredient, was seized on March 30th. The raids were the biggest police counter-terrorism operation in Britain since the September 11th, 2001, attacks in the United States.
A ninth man was arrested on April 1st. Police were given a further 48 hours, until Monday evening, to question him.
Detectives will focus on whether the men were involved in committing, preparing or instigating attacks, during interviews at a top security police station in central London.
On Friday, Canadian police confirmed that the arrest of Canadian-born software developer Mohammed Momin Khawaja in Ottawa on Monday was linked to the raids in Britain.
His family have said the arrest is a "big mix-up" and dismiss any connection with events in Britain.
