PRESS ASSOCIATION -- UK forces have arrested two Britons in Afghanistan amid fears they may have been planning an attack on British troops in the country.
The pair were held at a hotel in the western city of Herat in a dramatic joint raid with Afghan intelligence service the National Directorate of Security, The Times reported.
The suspects, who are British passport-holders with dual nationality, are now being held by UK forces in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, according to the paper.
An unnamed senior Afghan official told The Times: "It was terrorism-related. It was a UK-led operation."
The Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office confirmed the arrests but would not give any further details about the operation.
An MoD spokesman said: "We can confirm that British forces have detained two individuals in Afghanistan who claim to be British nationals. We are not prepared to comment further at this stage."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: "We can confirm that two British nationals have been detained in Afghanistan. Embassy staff are providing assistance."
Nato forces in Afghanistan normally hold suspects for a maximum of four days before releasing them or handing them over to the Afghan authorities, but this can be extended in certain cases.
The Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The UK has a national policy of detaining beyond 96 hours in exceptional circumstances, in particular where it could provide information that could help protect our forces or the local population."
News of the arrests came as the UK handed responsibility for security in Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah, to Afghan forces on Wednesday in a symbolic step towards the planned pull-out of British combat troops by the end of 2014