A NINTH person has been arrested in connection with the hunt for Birkby fire murders fugitive Shahid Mohammed.

Detectives confirmed today the man, aged 39, was arrested in Huddersfield as a major operation to catch Mohammed continued.

Police revealed details of the initial eight arrests late last night.

They were six men and two women.

The men arrested were 64, 35, 34, 28, 25, 16 and the two women were aged 55 and 32. All have been bailed. The 39-year-old has now also been bailed.

Mohammed is on the run from police investigating the firebomb murders of eight people at their Birkby home in May 2002.

He is the man suspected of being the ringleader of the attack which saw petrol poured through the Chisti family's letterbox on Osborne Road on the night of May 12, 2002.

The fire engulfed the house and claimed the lives of six-month-old Najeebah Nawaz, Aneesa Nawaz, two, Tayyaba Bootall, three, Ateeqa Nawaz, five, Rabiah Bootall, 10, Muhammed Ateeq-Ur-Rehman, 18, Nafeesa Aziz aged 35.

Zaib-U-Nisa, 54, died in hospital a week later.

In July 2003, three Huddersfield men - Shaied Iqbal, Shakiel Shazad Amir, and Nazar Hussain were convicted for their part in the crime.

Nazar Hussain has since been released on parole. Click here to read how Hussain was released despite experts being against the move

Shahid Mohammed fled while on bail and police have been hunting for him over the last decade.

Eight of those arrested in the latest operation came from Huddersfield and the other was from another location in the UK.

All were questioned on suspicion of helping an offender

Police stressed the inquiry is continuing and officers are following several new lines of inquiry.