Terror arrests: Bomb disposal team called as five men detained in Birmingham and Stoke
'The arrests were intelligence-led and part of an on-going investigation,' say police
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An army bomb disposal team has been called to a home in the centre of Birmingham after five men were arrested on terror charges.
West Midlands Police said the decision to bring in the army experts had been taken as a precaution.
The men were detained by counter-terrorism units in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent on suspicion of "commissioning, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism", the force added.
Two men, aged 18 and 24, were arrested at their homes in Birmingham and a 28-year-old man was detained in a different area of the city.
Another two men, aged 32 and 37, were arrested in Stoke.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "Police are searching a number of properties in the Stoke and Birmingham areas as part of the investigation; these searches are on-going.
"The arrests were intelligence-led and part of an on-going investigation."
Bath Row, between Islington Row and Holloway Circus in Birmingham, was closed while officers and the bomb disposal experts attended the scene, Birmingham Mail reported.