A house has been raided in connection with the murder of a soldier in Woolwich yesterday afternoon.
The police swooped on the house as the name of one of the suspects was revealed on internet forums and Twitter as Michael Adebolajo.
He was the alleged killer seen ranting on video shortly after the murder of a soldier is believed to be Michael Adebolajo.
It is understood the men, who are being treated in separate hospitals while under arrest, are most likely to be British citizens of Nigerian descent who have converted to a radical form of Islam.
However, they are not thought to have links to terror groups based in Nigeria, such as the jihadist militant organisation Boko Haram.
Police were today seen outside a £365,000 detached house in a Lincolnshire village where they raided a home where Adebolajo is listed as having lived in the past.
There was no answer at the address believed to be that of Adebolajo’s father, named by neighbours as Anthony Adebolajo.
Police were today seen outside a £365,000 detached house in a Lincolnshire village where they raided a home where Adebolajo is listed as having lived in the past.
There was no answer at the address believed to be that of Adebolajo’s father, named by neighbours as Anthony Adebolajo.
Michael Adebolajo was listed as being a resident there in 2004, shortly after the family moved in.
One nearby resident said: ‘I know his family have ties to London, but whoever is at this house is very secretive.
‘The curtains are always drawn at the front and the back, I’ve never seen anybody in the garden, either.’
He said his children nicknamed the family The Burbs, a reference to the 1980s Tom Hanks film of the same name about an unusual family who move in to a suburban American home.
Neighbours said the house has been home to the same family for about a decade and the blinds at the house were today closed.
A spokesman said: ‘Lincolnshire Police can confirm that the Metropolitan Police executed a search warrant under PACE at an address in Lincolnshire.
‘This is in connection with the ongoing investigation into the murder of a man in Woolwich. The Metropolitan Police are not prepared to discuss the matter further at this stage.’
The Foreign Office warns of a high threat from terrorism in the West African nation and raises the prospect of a risk of retaliatory attacks following the French intervention in Mali.
After the killing, the man believed to be Adebolajo is alleged to have declared: ‘you and your kids will be next’.
In a chilling rant captured on camera, the knife-wielding man declared: ‘The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers.
The who launched the terrifying diatribe in Woolwich, south-east London, believed to be Adebolajo, who has been identified on Twitter and web forums as one of the arrested men.
He added, in the video obtained by ITV News: ‘Remove your governments – they don’t care about you. You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start bursting our guns? You think politicians are going to die?
‘No, it’s going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them – tell them to bring our troops back so we can … so you can all live in peace.’
The serviceman was murdered yards from the barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, yesterday.
In broad daylight, an attacker and an accomplice repeatedly stabbed and tried to behead the young serviceman in front of dozens of passers-by.
The attacker, speaking in a clear south London accent, declared in the rant: ‘You people will never be safe. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’
Throughout the frenzied attack the two killers shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is great’ – then demanded horrified witnesses film them as they ranted over the crumpled body.
The two attackers in their 20s, waited calmly for armed police to arrive before charging at officers brandishing a rusty revolver, knives and meat cleavers.
When the old pistol was shot towards police it backfired and blew the thumb off one of the men.
Moments later they were cut down in a hail of bullets believed to be fired by a woman marksman. Last night both men were being treated in hospital for their wounds.
Before police arrived the man identified as Adebolajo, said: ‘We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day.
Yesterday’s slaughter took place 200 yards from The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich and close to a primary school at 2.20pm.
Witnesses told how the men drove a dark blue Vauxhall Tigra on to the pavement and knocked down the soldier.
This barbaric act is unacceptable and non-african in any way. The shameful thing need to be traced to their sender. Highly unfortunate for the noble officer who defends the sanctity of the nations territory to die in the hands of those he is serving and not an obvious enemy.
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