Bomb injures 29 on London train; threat level raised as police hunt suspects

Image
London: September 15, 2017. (Reuters) A home-made bomb on a packed rush-hour commuter train in London engulfed a carriage in flames and injured 29 people on Friday, but apparently failed to fully explode, in Britain's fifth major terrorism incident this year. Passengers heading into the British capital fled in panic after the blast as the train was about to depart Parsons Green station in West London at 8:20 a.m. (0720 GMT). Some suffered burns and others were injured in a stampede to escape the station, one of the above-ground stops on the underground "Tube" network, but health officials said none were thought to be in a serious condition. "We are chasing down suspects," said Britain's top counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley. "Somebody has planted this improvised explosive device on the Tube: we have to be open-minded at this stage about him and about potential associates." Hundreds of detectives and intelligence officials were involved in the manhunt. Rowley declined to say if the suspected bomber had been on the train. Prime Minister Theresa May returned to London to chair a meeting of the government's emergency response committee. She called the incident a "cowardly attack" and said the national threat level had been raised a notch to its highest level, "critical". The Islamic State militant group, which has said it was behind several attacks on Western cities in recent years, including two attacks in London and one in Manchester this year, claimed responsibility through its news agency, Amaq. He said terrified passengers fled, fearing a second explosion or a gunman, with people being knocked to the ground and crushed in the stampede to escape. Outside the station, a woman was carried off on a stretcher with her legs covered in a foil blanket while others were led away swathed in bandages. The health service said 29 people had been treated in hospital, many suffering from flash burns. In 2005, 52 people were killed when four British Islamists carried out suicide bomb attacks on three London underground trains and a bus, and this year Britain has suffered four attacks that killed a total of 36 people. "Another attack in London by a loser terrorist," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter. "These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!" His comment that the suspect was known to London police carried echoes of the Manchester attack in May, when British police were infuriated by U.S. authorities leaking details of the investigation, including the name of the main suspect, to media. Asked about Trump's tweet, May said: "I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation." "SO UNHELPFUL" Others were more directly critical of Trump. "True or not - and I'm sure he doesn't know - this is so unhelpful from leader of our ally and intelligence partner," May's former chief of staff Nick Timothy tweeted. A U.S. law enforcement official and a U.S. intelligence source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attack might have been carried out in response to recent Islamic State video messages urging would-be militants to attack trains and other public transport. One of the officials said the device's rudimentary design suggested the attack had not been carried out by a trained cell. Professor Hans Michels, an explosives expert from Imperial College London, said the device appeared to have largely failed. "The flash flame reported suggests that the ‘explosion’ was only partly successful," he said. "I must speculate that either the mixture was not of the right composition or that the ignition system was inadequate or not properly placed." UK security services believe those behind some of the militant incidents in Britain this year were probably acting alone, radicalised by online material. In March, a man drove a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing four, before he stabbed a policeman to death outside parliament. A further 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester in May and the following month, three Islamist militants drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight. In June, a van was driven into worshippers near a mosque in north London, which left one man dead. Figures released on Thursday showed there had been a record number of terrorism-related arrests in Britain in the past year. In the three years to March this year, police foiled 13 potential attacks, Rowley said this week. But the next 17 weeks saw the four attacks in London and Manchester, while the authorities thwarted six others.

You May Also Like

Image

FIA to Withdraw Cases Against Journalists Imran Shafqat and Amir Mir, AGP Assures Supreme Court

Islamabad: (PPF) During a Supreme Court hearing on March 25, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan assured that the Federal Invest

Image

Liberty and self-determination pulsate in the breasts of the people of Kashmir: Dr. Fai

Istanbul: “Liberty, dignity, and self-determination pulsate in the breasts of the people of Kashmir. That innate craving for justice is no di

Image

Pakistan Press Foundation condemns smear campaign against journalists in Pakistan’s post-election turmoil

Islamabad: The Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) strongly denounces the targeted smear campaign on social media against journalists in the aftermath

"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

nazirbhattipcc@aol.com , pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com