LONDON - Anti-terrorist operations by British police have highlighted suspicions the country is home to an extensive network of activists linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The web of support here for the man suspected of masterminding the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington is far stronger than previously thought, Sunday newspapers reported.

The left-of-centre Observer said that Britain was finally waking up "to its enemy within".

So many suspected al Qaeda militants have now been arrested that Belmarsh, a high-security prison in southeast London, has allocated a special wing for such prisoners, dubbed by guards as the 'Binmen', the paper said.

"For years the intelligence community has tried to play down the levels of activity and the threat from Islamic extremism in Britain," a London-based security expert told the broadsheet.

"But they can't do that any longer."

In the biggest anti-terror swoop here since September 11, British police arrested 17 people in Leicester, central England, and in London last week, nine under terrorism laws and the rest under immigration rules.

The raids were in connection with possible links to Bin Laden's worldwide al Qaeda network and alleged plans for terrorist attacks across Europe. - Nampa-AFP