LONDON, June 3: Members of an east London family alleged on Saturday that they were abused by British police who detained them a day earlier during a raid reportedly aimed at thwarting a chemical or biological attack.

The police said they were hunting for a chemical bomb that could be used in an attack in Britain after a major raid failed to uncover a device they believe exists.

More than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, shot one man and arrested another during the raid.

“A device that would have a fatal effect on someone standing nearby both from the explosion and from the chemical it contained,” the source said, adding the device being sought was a type of conventional bomb surrounded by toxic material.

The family said that they were ‘in no way involved in any terrorist activity’ and were not related to two brothers who were arrested during the raid, one of whom was shot in the shoulder.

“My family members and I were physically assaulted. I received serious head injuries that required hospital treatment,” said one man.

“We were detained without arrest for 12 hours,” he added.

“We would like to make it clear that we are completely innocent... This was vindicated by the police who released us without charge late yesterday (Friday) afternoon,” the statement said.

“We would like to express our deep shock and anger at the operation that took place,” it continued, adding: “We are currently liaising with our legal team on the course of action to take.”

The statement corrects an earlier declaration by Asad Rehman, spokesman for the family, who had initially said they were related to the two men arrested in the raid.

He subsequently insisted that the two households, though interconnected, were ‘totally separate’.

Police said earlier on Saturday that they were continuing to search the property.

Two hundred and fifty police, some of them wearing bio-chemical suits and carrying gas masks, raided the terraced houses in east London at dawn on Friday.

They arrested two brothers, reported to be Britons of Bangladeshi origin, on suspicion of planning ‘acts of terrorism’.—AFP