Man shot by police during UK terrorism raid

LONDON - Anti-terrorist police shot one man and arrested another during a major dawn raid on a house in east London today.

Scotland Yard said the man had been shot after officers, backed by the bomb-disposal unit, carried out a raid as part of a pre-planned operation under the Terrorism Act.

"During the operation, a man was shot by police and has been taken to a nearby hospital," police said in a statement.

No details about the shot man or what had provoked the raid were given. Police said it was intelligence-led and followed close liaison between security services and the Health Protection Agency, an independent body charged with guarding against infectious diseases.

Police said the raid was not linked to last July's suicide bomb attacks on London's transport system which killed 52 commuters.

A 23-year-old man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to a central London police station for questioning.

Officers in protective clothing were sent to the house in the Forest Gate area of the capital while nearby roads were cordoned off.

The bomb disposal unit and riot police had also been sent to the scene as a precaution.

"It is a big operation," a police spokeswoman said. "At this stage there is nothing to suggest members of the public in the immediate area are at risk.

"If we believe there is a potential risk, appropriate action will be taken and advice issued."

Police said the shooting incident had been routinely referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Britain has been on high alert since the attacks last July 7 when four British Islamists blew themselves up on three underground trains and a double decker bus.

Two weeks later police said they foiled an identical plot.

London police Commissioner Ian Blair, the country's most senior officer, said three terrorism plots had been thwarted since the July bombings and warned that groups were further planning attacks.

The government said the Home Secretary had been kept fully informed of today's events.

- REUTERS