12 Arrested in U.K. Anti-Terror Sweep

Authorities say that four separate raids across in England and Wales have averted an imminent terror attack.

The raids took place in London, Birmingham, and Stoke-On-Trent in England, and the Welsh capital of Cardiff, and resulted in the arrests of 12 men aged 17 to 28. It appears that the approaching “landmark” date of Christmas triggered the arrests but it’s unclear if authorities had specific information about when the alleged attack would take place or simply erred on the side of caution and made the raids before the holiday. Last year the so-called “underwear bomber” attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day. A man from Bedfordshire, U.K. carried out a suicide bomb attack in Stockholm last week, but police say that incident is unrelated to Monday’s arrest.