Sri Lanka, May 4 -- Eight men have been arrested in two separate counter-terrorism police investigations.

Five were arrested at various locations around England on Saturday as part of a "pre-planned" investigation into a plot to "target a specific premises", the Metropolitan Police said.

Four - two aged 29, one aged 40 and one aged 46 - are Iranian nationals. Police said the nationality and age of the fifth was still being established.

Three other men, all Iranian, were arrested in London on Saturday as part of a separate counter-terror police investigation. Police said the two operations were not connected.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked police and security services "for the action they have taken to keep our country safe".

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