LONDON, July 12: British police said on Friday they were treating a blast outside a mosque in central England as a terrorist incident, saying nails had reportedly been found at the scene.

The West Midlands police said they were alerted to reports of a loud bang in Tipton near Birmingham shortly after 1pm. No injuries were reported, but the immediate area was evacuated.

“An investigation is being led by the West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit and it is being treated as a terrorist incident,” police said in a statement.

“Some residents have reported finding debris in the area and finding nails. This is being investigated by forensic officers at the scene.”

The incident came on the same day as the funeral of soldier Lee Rigby, whose murder on a south London street in May stoked community tensions. Two suspects, both British Muslims, face a murder trial in November.

Since Mr Rigby’s killing, the English Defence League (EDL), a right-wing group which vociferously opposes Muslim and Islam, has staged protests at which its supporters chanted slogans such as “Muslim killers off our streets”.

A mosque was burned down in London shortly after the killing and “EDL” scrawled on the side of the building, but it was unclear who caused the fire.

Police have said there has been a rise in the number of attacks on Muslims since Mr Rigby’s death, despite politicians and religious leaders appealing for calm.—Reuters