Anti-terror police have raided the home of a Labour councillor whose 21-year-old son was arrested on the Syrian border with his aunt, cousins and four children.

Shakil Ahmed’s Rochdale home was searched by police last night and again this morning after his son Waheed and eight relatives – including four children – were detained in a remote Turkish border town.

Mr Ahmed, a respected local politician, was not in as police raided the house in connection with his son’s arrest, searching computers for any links to militants in Syria.

Scroll down for video 

Rochdale Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed, pictured with Ed Miliband, whose son has been caught trying to enter rebel-held Syria

Rochdale Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed, pictured with Ed Miliband, whose son has been caught trying to enter rebel-held Syria

Laughing: Waheed Ahmed, the 21-year-old son of a Labour Councillor, is one of nine Britons who have been held by Turkish security officials are attempting to slip illegally into Syria in an apparent bid to join ISIS

Laughing: Waheed Ahmed, the 21-year-old son of a Labour Councillor, is one of nine Britons who have been held by Turkish security officials are attempting to slip illegally into Syria in an apparent bid to join ISIS

Anti-terror police raided four addresses, including that of councillor Shakil Ahmed, last night and this morning

A police van was seen outside councillor Shakil Ahmed's home this morning after officers raided the house

A police van was seen outside councillor Shakil Ahmed’s home this morning after officers raided the house

Waheed is now being held alongside his aunt, two cousins and one of his cousin's wives after attempting to cross the border last night  

Waheed is now being held alongside his aunt, two cousins and one of his cousin’s wives after attempting to cross the border last night

The politics undergraduate is the son of local politician Shakil Ahmed, who was photographed with Labour leader Ed Miliband just weeks ago.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: ‘We searched four addresses in Rochdale and Heywood last night in relation to the family detained in Turkey. Searches will continue this morning.

‘Officers were looking for electronic devices to see if any occupants had been in touch with anyone in Syria.’

Childhood friends of Waheed spoke of their shock at the arrest of the ‘quiet, humble guy’.

Bassat Yousaf, 21, said his friend had been collecting money for victims of the Syria conflict before he learned he had gone to Turkey.

He said: ‘I have known him for 15 years. He’s really a quiet guy and he was just the same person that he was when he was in high school.

Police officers arrive at the councillor's house in Rochdale after his son was arrested on the Syrian border

Police officers arrive at the councillor’s house in Rochdale after his son was arrested on the Syrian border

‘I didn’t see any change in him whatsoever. He was a nice guy, I used to see him daily, I used to see him going up and down getting a milkshake.

‘Seeing him on the news came as a shock for me. He didn’t seem that kind of person. He was a family guy and not the kind of person they are talking about.

‘I knew his dad was a councillor for Rochdale. These things don’t really add up. He’s not the person I knew five years ago. I saw him a month ago and he was a nice person, a really humble guy.

‘I knew him and who his dad was and didn’t think he would do anything like that.

‘We used to talk about Palestine and Syria and he sometimes collected charity money. I used to see him collecting a lot of charity money for people whose homes have been blown up.

‘He was out collecting charity for people in Syria, knowing the person for that long – that’s the only thing I can think of.

‘It was money for Syria, they made a lot of badges and shirts, people wearing Palestinian, Syria shirts.

‘I think he might have been away in Turkey, maybe on holiday, he might have gone there to help Syria, with his family.’

Reporters were spat at and had their cameras shoved by some worshippers after Friday prayers at the Neeli Masjid Mosque in Rochdale, where it is believed the councillor’s son attended.

A spokesman for the mosque said: ‘It’s a big-time shock. I have seen him here. The whole community is extremely disappointed with the news – we are truly shocked.

‘We work ever so hard to educate young people of behaving in the correct manner.

‘We do not condone what ISIS do and we always have and always will do everything we can to bring people up in the right way and educate them so they know what is right and wrong.

‘We’re all still in a phase of shock and I personally feel bitterly disappointed. I saw him here on a few occasions – it is extremely disappointing news.’

Police were seen sweeping the property for evidence, with the councillor not at home all day

Police were seen sweeping the property for evidence, with the councillor not at home all day

'Shocked': Shakil Ahmed said he was 'shocked, worried and extremely upset' that his son was among the group and urged him to come home 'as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on'

‘Shocked’: Shakil Ahmed said he was ‘shocked, worried and extremely upset’ that his son was among the group and urged him to come home ‘as soon as possible so I can find out what’s going on’

'Shocked': Shakil Ahmed said he was 'shocked, worried and extremely upset' that his son was among the group and urged him to come home 'as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on'

In a statement, he said that he believed his son, a student at Manchester University, had been on work placement in Birmingham

Coun Ahmed, 45, last night spoke of his shock after being told that his son is suspected of being a militant Islamist.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘All I know is that they were on holiday and then the next thing I am told is that they have been arrested.’

The nine Britons, who include three men, two women and four children aged between one and 11, were seized in Hatay province, in southern Turkey.

It shares a border with part of Syria controlled by rebel factions including those linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

All those held are from Rochdale and are the biggest family group caught attempting to enter the unstable territory.

Counter terrorism officers at Greater Manchester Police began an investigation into their movements.

A senior officer questioned why anyone would take anyone so young ‘and vulnerable’ into a warzone. The extended family group were detained at a checkpoint in Ogulpinar on Tuesday.

The three men and two women, aged between 21 and 47, were taken to a hospital with their children, aged one, three, eight and 11.

Officials said they will be photographed and fingerprinted before being deported back to the UK.

Photographs showed Waheed Ahmed, dressed in traditional robes and wearing heavy boots, leading the group from a minibus into a police station.

The nine British nationals transported to a Turkish police…