LONDON: Armed officers arrested three men in London on suspicion of terrorism offences on Saturday, British police said.

The officers from the Counter Terrorism Command held two of the men outside a property in Islington, north London, and a third was detained near the Angel underground station nearby.

The men, aged 40, 30 and 22, were being held at a central London police station on suspicion of the “commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism,” police said.

The police said a small fire had been extinguished at a house where two of the men had been held and this was being linked to their arrests.

A police spokeswoman said there was no suggestion of any immediate threat and the arrests were part of a planned, intelligence-led operation.

Four places in east London were also being searched.

British police have been on high alert since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and after four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on London’s transport system in July 2005, killing 52 people.—Reuters