LONDON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Three of the nine people arrested by British police in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act were taken on Thursday to Coventry Magistrates Court in northwest Britain.

British police officers stand outside a house in Birmingham, England where police arrested suspected terrorists Wednesday Jan. 31, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    Eight people were arrested early on Wednesday morning by police and security forces investigating an "Iraq-style" kidnap and beheading plot, while the ninth was held at 15:00 pm on the motorway, Sky news reported.

    Under anti-terror laws, a person can only be held for 48 hours without charge.

    West Midlands Police said earlier that the nine were held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000." The police would also be asking for more time to question all the nine men. The other six will appear in court later.

    Although no detailed information has been given by the police under a six-month surveillance operation, Sky news reported that the nine people, believed to be Britons of Pakistani origin, were intended to post a video of a serving British Muslim soldier being tortured and killed on the Internet.

    The unnamed hostage in his 20s is now under police protection, said the report.

    Local police have distributed 5,000 leaflets to let residents in the community know what they are doing in the hope that people would come with more information on any suspicious acts.

    British media speculated that the alleged beheaded plot could be a backlash to the Iraqi and Afghanistan policies Tony Blair and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush imposed. It indicated that homegrown British Muslims had started to target Muslim soldiers in the army for their participation in the war in Iraq. The move would also affect recruits among British Muslims to join the army to be deployed in Afghanistan.

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Eight arrested in Britain over planning beheading plot

Police officers stand guard in a street in Birmingham in central England after a series of anti-terror arrests January 31, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    LONDON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The eight people arrested early Wednesday morning by police in central England were allegedly planning an Iraq-style kidnapping and beheading in the country.

    The eight people intended to post on the internet a video of a British Muslim soldier being tortured and killed, Sky news reported.

    The unnamed hostage, who is in his 20s, is now under police protection, it said.