Police free three heading for Gaza aid convoy

LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Thursday they had released three men arrested under anti-terrorism laws as they were driving to join an aid convoy heading for Gaza.

Lancashire police said in a statement they had released the men without charge. They were arrested with six others on Friday when police seized three vans on a motorway in northern England that were to form part of a 100-vehicle convoy.

The other six were released without charge last weekend.

Police also searched five houses in the town of Burnley on Saturday in connection with the arrests.

The convoy had been organised by the pro-Palestinian organisation Viva Palestina and left central London on Saturday, the group's website said.

It said volunteers planned to drive 5,000 miles (8,000 km) through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt where they hoped to cross the border at Rafah into Gaza on March 2.

It said the vehicles, which included a fire engine and ambulances, were carrying clothes, blankets and children's toys.

(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; editing by Robert Woodward)