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| Walsall and Tipton mosque blasts: Two men arrested | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in connection with explosions near two mosques. | |
| A "loud bang" was heard near the Aisha Mosque, in Rutter Street, Walsall on 21 June while a second explosion happened near Kanzul Iman Masjid mosque in Tipton on Friday. | |
| A 25-year-old and 22-year-old, both Eastern European, are being questioned. | |
| Army bomb disposal experts are at an area near Talbot Way, Small Heath, Birmingham. | |
| Some properties have been evacuated and parts of Small Heath Highway, Golden Hillock Road, and Coventry Road are closed. | |
| The pair were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism. | |
| The first suspect was arrested after being spotted by officers in the local area. The other man was arrested at a nearby property. | |
| ACC Marcus Beale, from West Midlands Police, said: "I would like to thank the public for their ongoing support and the way in which they responded to our appeal. | |
| "I appreciate that there is significant disruption whilst experts search and check this area. These road closures are essential to ensure that we keep everyone safe. | |
| "Investigations like this are complex and we need to ensure that we obtain every piece of information or forensic evidence possible. | |
| "This could take some time. What I can say is that we will endeavour to return the local area to normal as quickly as possible." | |
| 'Suspect forced down' | 'Suspect forced down' |
| One eyewitness told BBC WM about 100 people had initially been evacuated from businesses close to the area being searched. | One eyewitness told BBC WM about 100 people had initially been evacuated from businesses close to the area being searched. |
| Embreen Hashmi said: "All of a sudden there was an entourage of police and they cordoned off the whole business park and everybody had to come out on to the street. | Embreen Hashmi said: "All of a sudden there was an entourage of police and they cordoned off the whole business park and everybody had to come out on to the street. |
| "We weren't sure what it was and everybody was saying that it was some sort of bomb scare which frightened us. | "We weren't sure what it was and everybody was saying that it was some sort of bomb scare which frightened us. |
| "When we spoke to people that worked in the same building as one of the suspects he said there was a chap that they used to work with and that he was actually being forced down by armed police and they had to evacuate the building." | "When we spoke to people that worked in the same building as one of the suspects he said there was a chap that they used to work with and that he was actually being forced down by armed police and they had to evacuate the building." |
| Police were called to the mosque in Walsall the day after the explosion was heard after a member of the public discovered debris from a device. | |
| A 75-year-old man from the town was arrested last month but has since been eliminated from enquiries. | |
| The other explosion was on a disused railway line near Binfield Street in Tipton last week. |