British police have arrested three more persons in connection with the murder of a soldier who was butchered and beheaded on a busy london street this week by two suspected Islamist extremists.
Two men, aged 24 and 28, were detained at an address in south-east london on Saturday, while a 21-year-old man was arrested in street in Charlton lane, Greenwich, all of whom were held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder of soldier lee Rigby.
Police from the Counter Terrorism Command, supported by specialist firearms officers, used Tasers to detain the 21-year-old and the 28-year-old. They did not need hospital treatment.
The suspects arrested were not named by the security agencies. The arrests came as Downing Street confirmed the launch of a new terror task force to crack down on extremism.
The group, comprising of Cabinet ministers and top police and security service officials, will focus on radical preachers who seek out potential recruits in prisons, schools, colleges and mosques.
Prime Minister David Cameron has also announced that parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will carry out an investigation following disclosure that two men suspected of murder, identified as Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, were known to MI5.
Police last night refused to comment on reports that Adebowale was arrested two months ago. Authorities in France were also investigating whether the murder of Rigby was linked to an attack on a French soldier, who was stabbed in the neck in a busy shopping area near Paris on Saturday. PTI