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Afghan special forces commando ‘arrested at Manchester quarantine hotel’

The pre-dawn raid is said to have happened as he was quarantining with his family after arriving on a British evacuation flight last month.
The suspect was detained more than a week ago (Picture: Getty)

Armed police swooped on a Manchester hotel to arrest an Afghan special forces commando, it’s been reported.

The pre-dawn raid is believed to have happened as he was quarantining with his family after arriving on a British evacuation flight last month.

The motivation for the arrest is unclear and authorities declined to comment.

His case is not thought to be of concern to the security service, MI5, but an investigation in ongoing.

Sky News said it is understood that he is being held under immigration powers.

A person can be held by police for up to four days without charge if they are suspected of a serious crime.

This extends to a maximum of two weeks without charge if arrested under anti-terrorism laws.

It has now been more than a week since the suspect was arrested.

EMBARGOED TO 2200 SATURDAY AUGUST 21 Handout photo issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of a full flight of 265 people supported by members of the UK Armed Forces on board an evacuation flight out of Kabul airport, Afghanistan. The UK have been working closely with our international partners to complete the evacuation safely. 3,821 individuals have been evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation PITTING, which commenced on Friday August 13, with more than 1,000 UK Armed Forces personnel deployed in Kabul. Issue date: Saturday August 21, 2021. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Afghanistan . Photo credit should read: MoD/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
265 people supported by the UK armed forces cram into a cargo plane out of Kabul airport (Picture: PA)

The man is believed to remain in detention after the raid took place around August 31 to September 1.

Both the Ministry of Defence and Home Office have declined to comment. A spokesperson for the government said: ‘We don’t comment on individual cases.’

The commando and his family were placed in a hotel under the government’s traffic light system which has Afghanistan as a red list country.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-JULY 17: Afghan special forces attend a graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 17, 2021. Around hundreds including female special forces graduate after three months-trainings. Haroon Sabawoon/ Anadolu Agency (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Afghan special forces at a graduation ceremony in July 17 (Picture: Anadolu Agency)

More than 15,000 people including Afghans and British nationals were airlifted back to the UK under Operation Pitting following the Taliban’s takeover.

But Afghan special forces members, many of whom were trained by and fought alongside British troops, have been left behind.

Fears remain for the commandos, former interpreters and others linked to the UK-US coalition’s operations who have been left behind.  

MORE : SAS rescue 20 stranded troops from Taliban in daring desert raid

MORE : British man, 24, stranded in Kabul after flying out to rescue wife from Taliban

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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