Scotland Yard said the arrests were not linked to the alleged trans-Atlantic airliners bomb plot at Heathrow Airport last month or the July 5 underground attacks last year.

Two people were held in east London, in what Scotland Yard described as a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation, and another 12 were arrested at a restaurant in south London on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Ross Jackson is living in the neighborhood.

"I just saw a whole load of police officers pull up just out of nowhere. And then they just ran up to the restaurant there and they started crowding around people."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrests in south and east London follow many months of surveillance and investigation in a joint operation involving the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Special Branch and the Security Service.