British counter-terrorism police arrested nine men in an alleged kidnapping plot in Birmingham on Wednesday, police said. The men planned to behead a British Muslim soldier and broadcast the act on the Internet, Sky News reported.The men arrested were accused of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism, police said.The plot is the first of its kind to be uncovered in Britain, according to counterterrorism officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.Police would not confirm the potential victim’s occupation or details of the plot that was unraveled in the predominantly Pakistani neighborhood in central England. A dozen houses and two Islamic bookshops were cordoned off and searched.The potential victim is in police custody, Sky reported, saying the kidnapping was going to be an “Iraq-style” execution. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s official spokesman declined to comment on the ongoing police operation.Sky TV reported that British investigators contacted Pakistani intelligence agents four days ago about the plot. In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said: “British authorities have confirmed that there is no Pakistan connection.”Since suicide bombers killed 52 people in London on July 7, 2005 — killings carried out by Muslim extremists who grew up in Britain — counterterrorism units have conducted several raids across Britain. Several sweeps have been conducted in Birmingham, including a raid in August, when suspects were arrested in a major plot to blow up at least 10 planes.Birmingham is also the hometown of Britain’s first Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan last year — a death which prompted militant Islamist websites to denounce Cpl Jabron Hashmi (24), as a traitor. The Defense Ministry said 330 Muslim personnel are serving in the British armed forces. It did not comment on reports that the intended victim was also a Muslim soldier.
