03 January 2023 , 14:36
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A mosque has been placed under lockdown by the bomb squad after suspicious bags were found.
A major police operation is under way in Edinburgh after reports of suspicious items in the Scottish capital.
Officers have swarmed the area around the mosque with the busy area closed off to both traffic and pedestrians.
Police have been seen standing guard outside the historic building.
It comes two months after the bomb-disposal squad were called to the city centre with buildings were evacuated after reports of a man acting suspiciously.
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The bomb disposal unit arrive at the scene (Duncan McGlynn)
Edinburgh Central Mosque has today been evacuated (Duncan McGlynn)A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed: “Police were called to a report of a suspicious item found within a mosque on Potterrow, Edinburgh.
"A cordon has been put in place as a precaution and the EOD are in attendance.”
The mosque confirmed it would be closed until further notice.
They released a statement reading: “Edinburgh Central Mosque will be closed today for the next few hours and until further notice.
Emergency services were alerted on Tuesday morning (Duncan McGlynn)"This is due to a couple of bags that we discovered inside the premises early this morning.
"The Police have been notified about the bags and following a review of CCTV they have advised that we evacuate the building and stop any activities until they have removed the bags.
"We do not know at this moment how long the process could take, however will post another update as soon as the bags have been removed and the police has concluded that it is safe to reopen the building.”
(Duncan McGlynn)A cordon is in place around the place of worship on Potterrow, with Nicolson Square also closed off.
Local buses have been diverted “via Chambers Street and Nicolson Street in both directions until further notice,” it was announced.