TEN people were being questioned by police last night following a series of anti-terror raids across the country.

Seven of them, including one woman, were arrested in Greater Manchester, while three of the other men were arrested after raids in Staffordshire, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

The ten were described by police as being North African or Iraqi Kurdish in origin, and were being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Intelligence sources indicated last night that the ten had been arrested following co-operation between the Menwith Hill spy base at Harrogate, North Yorkshire, the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham and the National Security Agency in the US.

One of the raids took place above a kebab shop in a university district of central Manchester.

The overall operation, which involved more than 400 officers, was co-ordinated by Greater Manchester Police and also involved the security services and the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorist Branch.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Whatton, of Greater Manchester Police, said the raids were part of an ongoing operation related to the threat of terrorism.

He said: "This is the first action that the public have become aware of as it is overt, but nothing should be read into that.

"They are in police custody and will be interviewed as part of the ongoing inquiry."

The suspects can be held for questioning for 14 days without charge.

Police refused to confirm addresses for any of the raids, but one is understood to have taken place at a flat above a takeaway food shop, called Dolphins, near Manchester city centre.

Irfaan Arif, 24, and his cousin, Muhammad Tahir, 24, who run AK Computers next to the takeaway, were woken when the police raided the properties at 3.30am.

Mr Arif said: "We heard lots of banging and shouting and general noise.

"We went to the window and looked outside and there were loads of police there.

"There were about ten police officers outside and some inside.

"I went downstairs and opened up the shutter of the shop, but was told by an officer to go back inside."

Police cordoned off the area around the shop yesterday while forensic experts removed property from the flats for examination.

Officers refused to confirm reports that the operation followed a large-scale surveillance operation that involved the interception of telephone calls and messages.

Senior officers also refused to comment on suggestions that the Trafford Centre shopping mall may have been a target.

Sources close to the Trafford Centre management dismissed the rumours as speculation.

* A packed football stadium could have been the target of an al Qaida attack, it emerged today, following the ten arrests.

Suicide bombers may have been planning to attack Old Trafford and the City of Manchester football grounds, according to reports.

However, police and the Home Office have refused to comment on possible targets.