Search underway for London underground bombers. 29 people have been treated in hospitals, mostly for burns
WEB DESK
Scotland Yard, the London Police has confirmed the “improvised explosive device” that detonated on a Tube train in south-west London during Friday’s morning rush hour is terror act.
“The blast, at Parsons Green station on a District Line train from Wimbledon, is being treated as terrorism” said Scotland Yard.
Twenty-nine 29 people have been treated in hospitals, mostly for burns, though at least eight have now been discharged.
A hunt for the person who placed the device is under way and the area around the station has been evacuated.
Hundreds of police are reviewing CCTV and carrying out forensic testing to identify the attacker behind a subway attack.
Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley, said no one had been arrested in connection to the attack but that detectives were reviewing surveillance camera footage, carrying out forensic work and speaking to witnesses.
Experts say the homemade device appeared to have malfunctioned, avoiding a much larger tragedy.
The Metropolitan Police force said police were “making fast-time inquiries to establish who was responsible and are working closely with the security services.”
“There is a manhunt under way as we speak,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told LBC radio, urging Londoners to remain “calm and vigilant.”
“As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism,” he said.
Counter-terrorism experts said the device seemed to have malfunctioned, averting a larger catastrophe.
“They were really lucky with this one, it could have really become much worse,” terrorism analyst Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish Defense University said. “It seems that this was hastily put together. Probably not very well mixed together.”
Judging from the photos, he said it appeared that the bomb did not fully detonate, as much of the device and its casing remained intact, making it easier for investigators to determine the composition of the bomb.
European leaders sent their condolences to their British neighbors following the incident.
US President Donald Trump has spoken to Prime Minister Theresa May to convey his sympathies for those injured in the terrorist attack, the White House has said.
President Trump pledged to continue close collaboration with the UK to stop attacks and combat extremism, the statement added.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “President Trump called the prime minister earlier today to offer his condolences over this morning’s cowardly attack in London.”
US President Donald Trump had earlier tweeted that the “sick and demented” people behind the attack had been in the sights of the Metropolitan Police, prompting Mrs May to say it was not helpful to “speculate” on an ongoing investigation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “Our thoughts are of course with the wounded, our thoughts are with the British population,” after a meeting with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in Berlin.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are investigating incident
Police were called at approximately 08:20hrs on Friday, 15 September to Parsons Green Underground Station following reports of a fire on the train.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for CT policing, has declared it a terrorist incident.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police attended the scene, along with colleagues from London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.
At present we are aware of a number of people who have suffered injuries.
It is too early to confirm the cause of the fire, which will be subject to the investigation that is now underway by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
The station remains cordoned off and we are advising people to avoid the area.