IS 'plot to attack UK foiled': how serious is the threat?

Four men arrested amid fears of British jihadists returning from Syria to launch attacks on UK soil

Armed police at Westminster
(Image credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images News)

The first alleged UK terror plot linked to Islamic State has been foiled by police and MI5, reports suggest. Four men were arrested in armed raids in London, amid fears jihadists are returning from Syria and Iraq to carry out beheadings or firearms attacks on British streets. The arrests come six weeks after the UK's terror threat assessment level was raised from "substantial" to "severe" in response to the conflicts in the two countries, which have attracted hundreds of Britons to fight, including a 15-year-old girl who left her home in Bristol two weeks ago.

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