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

[rooster59]

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

By Kevin Coombs and Yann Tessier

 

Emergency personnel attend to a person after an incident at Parsons Green underground station in London, Britain, September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Yann Tessier

 

LONDON (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.

 

It was impossible to verify the claim, for which Amaq offered no evidence. Western intelligence officials have questioned similar claims in the past, saying that while Islamic State's jihadist ideology may have inspired some attackers, there is scant evidence that it has orchestrated attacks.

 

"It is very routine in these sort of circumstances for IS to claim responsibility, whether or not they have had any previous engagement with the individuals involved," Rowley said.

 

"I SAW THIS FIREBALL"

 

Pictures taken at the scene showed a slightly charred white bucket with a supermarket freezer bag on the floor of one train carriage. The bucket, still intact, was in flames and there appeared to be wires coming out of the top.

 

"I was on second carriage from the back. I just heard a kind of 'whoosh'. I looked up and saw the whole carriage engulfed in flames making its way towards me," Ola Fayankinnu, who was on the train, told Reuters.

 

"There were phones, hats, bags all over the place and when I looked back I saw a bag with flames."

 

Charlie Craven said he had just got on the train when the device exploded.

 

"Literally within three seconds of putting your bag down, the doors just closing, we hear a loud explosion," he told Reuters. "I looked around and saw this massive fireball ... coming down the carriage."

 

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.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-16

 

 

[simple1]

Thankfully none murdered in this incident, though burns injuries cause much suffering and a long and painful recovery process. Hope police don't too long to identify and charge the attacker/s.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

[zydeco]

56 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Prime Minister Theresa May returned to London to chair a meeting of the government's emergency response committee.

Don't worry. Everything is under control. They're having another meeting.

[Caps]

9 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Don't worry. Everything is under control. They're having another meeting.

so what would you like her to do?  

Edited September 16, 2017 by Caps

[billbenbob]

CAPS.    Have another meeting that will solve it.

[Caps]

4 minutes ago, billbenbob said:

CAPS.    Have another meeting that will solve it.

I was just wondering if I was going to get some infinite wisdom on how else the PM, intelligence services, police services, the military and other emergency services could brief each other, pass on relevant information and plan a course of events? 

[simple1]

47 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Don't worry. Everything is under control. They're having another meeting.

One assumes you understand a "Cobra" meeting and the purpose. Then compare to the idiocy of Trump's responses to the attack. 

[phantomfiddler]

I don,t know why anyone is angry at Trump, since there is a 99.9% likelihood that he is correct in his assessment !

Edited September 16, 2017 by phantomfiddler

[RichardColeman]

Gotta love the way they day they know who it is but wont name them for joe public to keep an eye out for them. Find them and shoot them dead. Oh, no wait that T*sser Corbyn will moan at that. Still we could always throw Diane Abbot at them, that would do the trick.

[johna]

If ISIS had not claimed responsibility for this attack, British MSM would be left scratching their heads.

[zydeco]

3 hours ago, Caps said:

I was just wondering if I was going to get some infinite wisdom on how else the PM, intelligence services, police services, the military and other emergency services could brief each other, pass on relevant information and plan a course of events? 

Yeah, "plan a course of events," as in the next one of these attacks they are utterly incapable of stopping, which will happen in a few days, weeks, or month at most. Then, they can have another meeting.

[simple1]

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

I don,t know why anyone is angry at Trump, since there is a 99.9% likelihood that he is correct in his assessment !

In Downing Street, Mrs May said: “I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation. The police and security services are working to discover the full circumstances of this cowardly attack and to identify all those responsible.”

Her comments were echoed by the Metropolitan Police who said the US president’s intervention was “unhelpful” and “pure speculation”.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/15/donald-trump-says-parsons-green-attacker-demented-terrorist/

[Ace of Pop]

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Krataiboy]

We are reaping the bitter harvest of hate sown by our involvement in the phony US "War on Terror" and a domestic immigrant and refugee screening system as leaky as a clapped-out colander.

 

As ISIS continues to lose battles in its own backyard, more bloody reprisals can be anticipated from radicalised indigenous Muslims and "sleeper" jihadists who have infiltrated vulnerable major population centres across the UK and Europe. 

 

The solution? There isn't one. It's too late to close the stable door. But as a nation we need to learn the harsh lessons of sticking our noses into other people's business without due regard for the long-term consequences.

[Caps]

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

Yeah, "plan a course of events," as in the next one of these attacks they are utterly incapable of stopping, which will happen in a few days, weeks, or month at most. Then, they can have another meeting.

So how many have they stopped already?  I would put my money on quite a few.  So yes they will continue to have meetings.  The old adage of 'a terrorist only has to be lucky once and we have to be lucky all the time' springs to mind.  So yes attacks will get through, but utterly incapable, not a chance

You still didn't answer my first question I quoted you on, just in case you forgot....it was...so what would you like her to do?

Clearly some folk don't have a clue!

[PETERTHEEATER]

2 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

No sir, you did tell us but no one listened....

[Caps]

2 hours ago, simple1 said:

In Downing Street, Mrs May said: “I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation. The police and security services are working to discover the full circumstances of this cowardly attack and to identify all those responsible.”

Her comments were echoed by the Metropolitan Police who said the US president’s intervention was “unhelpful” and “pure speculation”.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/15/donald-trump-says-parsons-green-attacker-demented-terrorist/

No change there then, engaging mouth (sorry Tweet) before he engages his brain

[simple1]

1 minute ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

No sir, you did tell us but no one listened....

Powell made no reference to Jihadi terrorism

[simple1]

6 minutes ago, Caps said:

No change there then, engaging mouth (sorry Tweet) before he engages his brain

Correct. Now reported that UK Police have identified the attacker by way of CCTV review, hope they can quickly track down and arrest those responsible. 

 

Some years back I lived very near to Parsons Green Station.

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, Krataiboy said:

We are reaping the bitter harvest of hate sown by our involvement in the phony US "War on Terror" and a domestic immigrant and refugee screening system as leaky as a clapped-out colander.

 

As ISIS continues to lose battles in its own backyard, more bloody reprisals can be anticipated from radicalised indigenous Muslims and "sleeper" jihadists who have infiltrated vulnerable major population centres across the UK and Europe. 

 

The solution? There isn't one. It's too late to close the stable door. But as a nation we need to learn the harsh lessons of sticking our noses into other people's business without due regard for the long-term consequences.

The usual *If we leave the terrorists alone, they wont attack us"

[Krataiboy]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

The usual *If we leave the terrorists alone, they wont attack us"

To millions of innocent  civilians across the Levant and elsewhere whose lives and livelihoods we have destroyed WE are the terrorists.

[sanemax]

Just now, Krataiboy said:

To millions of innocent  civilians across the Levant and elsewhere whose lives and livelihoods we have destroyed WE are the terrorists.

:)

[dick dasterdly]

38 minutes ago, Caps said:

So how many have they stopped already?  I would put my money on quite a few.  So yes they will continue to have meetings.  The old adage of 'a terrorist only has to be lucky once and we have to be lucky all the time' springs to mind.  So yes attacks will get through, but utterly incapable, not a chance

You still didn't answer my first question I quoted you on, just in case you forgot....it was...so what would you like her to do?

Clearly some folk don't have a clue!

Good point.

 

We all (or at least most of us) want to see those shown to be teaching hatred of the white population immediately deported, but easier said than done under the current rules/laws - even more so if they were born in the UK.

[7by7]

8 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Gotta love the way they day they know who it is but wont name them for joe public to keep an eye out for them. Find them and shoot them dead. Oh, no wait that T*sser Corbyn will moan at that. Still we could always throw Diane Abbot at them, that would do the trick.

 Before any arrests can be made, the suspect first has to be identified and then found. If a suspect has been identified and the police need the public's help in locating them then they will seek that help.

 

On this occasion, they did not require such help: Parsons Green: Man arrested over Tube bombing

Quote

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of terror offences in connection with Friday's attack on a London Tube train.

The man was detained in the port area of Dover on Saturday by Kent Police and is being held at a local station.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the arrest was "significant", but the terror threat level remains at "critical

 As for shooting suspects dead, the UK is a civilised country subject to the rule of law. The police only shoot suspects when there is an immediate threat to life.

 

Perhaps you'd prefer summery execution without trial. But wouldn't that make us as bad as the terrorists?

[pitrevie]

19 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 Before any arrests can be made, the suspect first has to be identified and then found. If a suspect has been identified and the police need the public's help in locating them then they will seek that help.

 

On this occasion, they did not require such help: Parsons Green: Man arrested over Tube bombing

 As for shooting suspects dead, the UK is a civilised country subject to the rule of law. The police only shoot suspects when there is an immediate threat to life.

 

Perhaps you'd prefer summery execution without trial. But wouldn't that make us as bad as the terrorists?

I think the Met Police Commissioner still recalls the dreadful mistake that was made with respect to Jean Charles De Menezes  

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

Eunoch Powell's bigoted and paranoid screed quite quaint these days. Honestly who cares if west Indians and colonials " hold the whip handle over the white man"? What are they to do force you to go to Reggae parties and smoke cannabis, eat brick lane curries?

 

Islamism and it's goals are totally clear. Submit or die. There is a living enemy within the UK that has no goal other than total domination. Liberals embolden them. Gays and feminists, and Labour the first to the gibbet. Collectively a mental disorder for sure.

 

 

 

[dunroaming]

Yes 18 year old arrested in Dover fleeing the country.  More arrests expected.  Thankfully once again the bomb malfunctioned nevertheless  another terrorist attack on innocent people.

 

As for Trump well the man is a buffoon and an ignorant buffoon at that.  Nobody on this side of the pond take any notice of his stupid tweets

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

The usual *If we leave the terrorists alone, they wont attack us"

 

A considerable number of these terrorists are citizens of the countries they attack. There beef isn't about anyone poking their nose in. It's about their desire for their beliefs to dominate.

[4MyEgo]

Catch them and hang them in public, then feed their bodies to the pigs

Edited September 16, 2017 by 4MyEgo