Two men, aged 24 and 28, were detained at an address in south-east London yesterday, while a 21-year-old man was arrested in the street in Charlton Lane, Greenwich, all of whom were held on suspicion of the conspiracy to commit the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday.
Police from the Counter Terrorism Command, supported by specialist firearms officers, used Tasers to detain the 21-year-old and the 28-year-old. They did not need hospital treatment.
The arrests came as Downing Street confirmed the launch of a new terror task force to crack down on extremism.
The group, comprising of Cabinet ministers and top police and security service officials, will focus on radical preachers who seek out potential recruits in prisons, schools, colleges and mosques.
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Prime Minister David Cameron has also announced that the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will carry out an investigation following the disclosure that the two men suspected of the murder, identified as Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, were known to MI5.
Authorities in France were also investigating whether the murder of Rigby was linked to an attack on a French soldier, who was stabbed in the neck in a busy shopping area near Paris yesterday.
The latest arrests in London took place last evening, and the three men are being held at a south London police station, Scotland Yard said.
Officers were last night also searched four addresses in south-east London.
Searches have also taken place at three other addresses in south London, one in east London, one in north London and one in Saxilby, Lincolnshire, the former home of Adebolajo.