12 Busted in Terror Raids in England, Wales

Police believe a series of pre-dawn raids in England and Wales this morning may have foiled a major terrorist plot. Twelve men were arrested in Birmingham, Cardiff, London, and Stoke-on-Trent as part of what police described as a "large scale, pre-planned and intelligence-led operation," the Guardian reports.

Police say the men were arrested on suspicion of the "preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK"; their homes are still being searched. The men are believed to have been plotting a bomb attack and the proximity of Christmas appears to have been a factor in the raids, the country's biggest counter-terror sweep since 11 men were arrested in April 2009. A number of the men, who are between the ages of 17 and 28, are Bangladeshi. (More Britain stories.)