18-year-old man arrested at home in Birmingham suspected of being ready to go to Syria to join ISIS

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An 18-year-old man has been arrested at his home in Birmingham on suspicion of preparing to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. 

West Midland Police have said the teenager, from the Hodge Hill area of Birmingham, was arrested at around 7am today by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.

A spokesman for the force said: 'The operation was pre-planned and intelligence led. There was no immediate threat to public safety.'

An 18-year-old man has been arrested at his home in Birmingham on suspicion of preparing to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (stock picture)

West Midland Police have said the teenager, from the Hodge Hill area of Birmingham (stock picture), was arrested at around 7am today by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit 

The man was arrested at his home address on suspicion of preparing for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

It comes the day after it three British teenage jihadists were arrested in Turkey on suspicion of trying to join Islamic State fighters in Syria, in a dramatic security operation.

A pair of 17-year-old schoolboys and a 19-year-old man were intercepted in Istanbul after their parents realised they had fled to join the terrorist group.

They dialled 999 and British police quickly tipped off their Turkish counterparts. Officials swooped on the group within minutes of their flight touching down in Istanbul.

The three were brought back to Britain where they were questioned at a high-security London police station on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.

Last night they were released on bail.

 A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'They have been bailed to return to a central London police station pending further inquiries.'

Investigators hope to discover how they planned to reach the war zone and why they decided to try to do so.

Brent Council has confirmed that all three teenagers who have been bailed until a date in early May are from the north west London borough.

It comes the day after it was revealed that three British teenage jihadists were arrested in Turkey, after a dramatic security operation stopped them joining Islamic State fighters in Syria 

Council leader Muhammed Butt welcomed the quick actions of their families, saying that their decision to call authorities was 'vital' in getting the youngsters home safely.

He said: 'It is good to know that these young men are now safely home with their families. This is because the families involved decided to call the authorities as soon as they realised their children were missing.

'This quick action was vital as it meant the police and border authorities were able to work effectively together to bring them home safe and sound.

'I would like to thank the Met Police and Turkish authorities for their swift action in returning the boys back to the UK in less than 48 hours.'

He added that it was important for everyone in the community to work together to ensure people in danger of making the wrong choice get the guidance and support they need. 

Speaking in the Commons, Security Minister James Brokenshire said he could not comment on the specifics of the recent arrests but told MPs: 'It has been reported three young men were arrested at the weekend after attempting to travel from Turkey to Syria.

'This reflects the good working relationship we have with the Turkish authorities.

'MPs will understand I cannot comment on the specifics because there is an on-going investigation but I will say those seeking to travel to engage in terrorist activity in Syria or Iraq should be in no doubt we will take the strongest possible action to protect our national security, including prosecuting those who break the law.'

MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the latest arrests suggest the flow of young people intending to travel to Syria is 'on a much larger scale than we envisaged'.

'I welcome the action that has been taken by the Turkish authorities,' he said.

After meeting the boys' families, Mr Vaz said: 'The families of the two of the young men that I met are honourable, decent, hard-working British citizens who knew absolutely nothing about their sons' decisions. They acted swiftly, with the support of the leader of the council, to alert the police.

'The police need to be commended for the speed with which they dealt with this case. I have spoken to the Turkish ambassador to congratulate him on the action taken by the Turkish authorities.

'This is a rare good news story in the fight against terrorism and is a lesson to us all that we need to be vigilant against those who seek to groom our young men and women in this way.' 

It comes just weeks after an international police hunt was launched to find three London schoolgirls who travelled to Istanbul on their journey to Syria  

Last week Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the three schoolgirls who fled to Syria from East London would not face prosecution if they came home.

This is despite the fact they successfully reached IS and at least two of them are known to have communicated with wanted terrorists.

The families of Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, have criticised police and others for failing to stop them.

But questions have been raised about why the families themselves did not spot their conversion to radical Islam.

The families of the three girls yesterday released a statement appealing for them to come home immediately.

Saying they felt their loss 'more acutely' on Mother's Day, the families also criticised authorities, saying: 'With respect to the disappearance of our children we have been disappointed by the handling of this matter by the school, Met Police and the local authority, all of whom we feel failed to act appropriately and pass on vital information to us or indeed between each other.'  

On Saturday the Daily Mail revealed the identity of another girl, a close friend of the trio, who left Britain before them in December.

Sharmeena Begum, 15, disappeared from Bethnal Green Academy and flew to Istanbul from Gatwick. Those closest to all four girls suspect they were groomed by Islamists using social networking sites and secretive internet messaging software.

There are also suspicions the trio kept in touch with Sharmeena who passed on information about how to follow in her footsteps. The schoolgirls are understood to be in the terror group's de facto capital Raqqa.

The authorities in Turkey said the quick deportation of the latest travellers showed how their efforts to combat the flood of extremists is working.

One source said: 'The Turkish are willing to act quickly and arrest people but they do not see this as their problem. That is why the suspects were sent back to the UK so quickly. No one here wants to deal with them any longer than they have to.' 

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