Woman in burqa dragged off London bus

A woman wearing a burqa was dragged off a London bus by armed police in a counter-terrorism operation that led to another young Muslim woman being shot just a few streets away.

Footage shows a passenger, believed to be in her twenties, in full Muslim dress, screaming as a group of undercover officers pull her off public transport on Willesden High Road in north-west London.

The woman was forced to lower her veil after being bundled into a doorway next to a shop while her bags were searched by undercover police who swooped after receiving intelligence of a suspected terrorist plot.

Witnesses said the woman had two bags taken from her and searched by police, who then spoke to her before letting her go. Some claimed they heard police saying they believed she had explosives on her.

A man who filmed the incident told reporters: “They were searching her bags and I heard them saying there were detonators inside. I have never seen her before. They made her take the veil off while they searched her in a doorway. As she came off more police came off directly behind her.”

Scotland Yard confirmed the woman was not arrested, but said six other people have now been arrested in connection with the operation targeting an address in Harlesden Road in Willesden, five of them at or near the house and one at a home in Kent.

Scotland Yard said the incident has been referred to the Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards and to the Independent Police Complaints Commission “as a matter of course”.