"We hope that the appropriate lessons will be learned by all involved in this tragic incident," said Abdul Bari.

CAIRO — Two Muslim brothers arrested in a huge anti-terrorist raid on their home in London were released without charge Friday evening, June 9, in a blow for the police, whose operation outraged the Muslim minority.

Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23 and Abul Koyair, 20, who strongly protested their innocence throughout their detention, were released from Paddington Green high security police station shortly before 8:30pm, the Guardian reported on Saturday, June 10.

Scotland Yard said the two men would be contacted so arrangements could be made for property to be handed back to them.

It also said the police would undertake appropriate restoration work.

More than 250 police officers, some of them armed and wearing biochemical suits, burst into the house last Friday after receiving intelligence claiming that a chemical or biological weapon could be inside.

But as the week drew on, senior officers came under increasing pressure and were forced to concede that there may never have been such a weapon in the house.

Counter-terrorism officials told the Guardian on June 6 that the intelligence that led to the raid was wrong and based on a single apparently uncorroborated source.

During the operation, Kahar was shot in the upper right hand side of his chest, with the bullet exiting through his shoulder.

He was held under armed guard at Royal London hospital in Whitechapel, as he recovered from his wounds.

The shooting of Kahar will be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which could take months to produce a report.

Lessons

British Muslim leaders welcomed the brothers' release, but warned that much damage had been done by the police operation.

Azad Ali, chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, which tries to improve relations between the Muslim community and the police, said officers should explain fully to the family what happened.

"The police have clearly made errors and they have to learn lessons," he told the Guardian.

Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, agreed.

"This decision to release the two brothers without charge confirms their innocence and we hope that the appropriate lessons will be learned by all involved in this tragic incident," he said in statements carried by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Abdul Bari added that it was not a matter of apportioning blame, but of trying to ensure Muslims and the police work together to defeat terrorism.

But Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the unnecessary raid is yet "another indictment" of police and intelligence service anti-terrorist policy.

"This policy is criminalizing and victimizing a community that is running out of patience. The only criteria for suspicion it appears is the suspicion that you might be or are a Muslim," he said.

Attempting to ease tensions between the police and the Muslim community, Andy Hayman, Assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police apologized Friday for the raid.

"I am aware that in mounting this operation we have caused disruption and inconvenience to many residents in Newham, and for that I apologize," he said.

The bungled operation have raised questions about the the quality of police intelligence almost one year after the July 7 London bombings, experts said.

Despite the Muslim anger the flimsy intelligence, police said Saturday the hunt continued for the suspected terrorist device.

"The intelligence received by police continues to be developed and the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) will continue to exhaust all lines of inquiry," a police spokesman told Reuters.