Terror Plot Against British Prime Minister Stopped

 

Two men accused of plotting to kill British Prime Minister Theresa May appeared in a London court Wednesday.

The two are believed to have been planning a suicide attack using explosives and a knife at the home of the prime minister on 10 Downing Street.

Information about the suspected plot was first released by Andrew Parker, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service, MI5.

Parker spoke¹ to members of Theresa May’s cabinet about terrorist threats. He said that his service had prevented nine terrorist attacks this year.

Police say the men who appeared in court Wednesday were arrested last week in raids that took place in London and the city of Birmingham.

One of those arrested is 20-year-old Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman. He is accused of preparing acts of terrorism. Officials suspect that Rahman had two explosive devices when he was arrested.

Also accused is 21-year-old Mohammed Aqib Imran, who was arrested in Birmingham. Imran is accused of trying to get a false passport in an effort to go to Libya to join a group linked to the Islamic State.

When speaking to cabinet members, Parker noted² that the Islamic State group had faced defeats. But, he said, the group was still “trying to encourage attacks in the UK and elsewhere via propaganda on social media.”

News of the plot comes hours after the release of an official report on the bombing attack in Manchester last year. The report said British security forces had missed chances to stop the attack.

Lawyer David Anderson wrote the report. Anderson said the Manchester bombing attack, which killed 22 people at a music concert in May, could have been stopped “had the cards fallen differently.”

In addition, the report said the leader of another terror attack, who used knives on London Bridge in June, had been under investigation³ by MI5.

However, Anderson noted that most terror plots continue to be prevented before they can be carried out.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

prevent –v. to keep from happening

encourage –v. to support some activity, to get others to do something

via –prep. through

cards fall –idiom, things that happen usually because of chance rather than planning

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。