Picture Courtesy : The Indian Express
The Islamic State has claimed the ‘bucket bomb’ attack on a packed underground train at a London station on Friday, injuring at least 29 people.
According to news report by PTI, the improvised explosive device explosion, on a District Line Tube in the British capital’s southwest, occurred as the train pulled into Parsons Green station.
‘The bombing on a metro in London was carried out by a detachment of the Islamic State,’ it said in a statement published by its Amaq propaganda agency.
US President Donald Trump took to twitter to condemn the terror strike in London. He tweeted
Another attack in London by a loser terrorist.These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2017
The United Kingdom’s terror threat level has been raised to ‘critical’, which means an attack is imminent, hours after the explosion.
Commuters said they heard a bang and saw a fireball inside the carriage when the ‘bucket bomb’ exploded.
Several people suffered facial burns, some reportedly were even trampled in the rush to escape. But none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Pictures of a white bucket on fire inside a supermarket bag, with wires trailing on to the carriage floor of the train went viral on social media.
Investigators were examining what appears to be a circuit board recovered from the scene, news reports said.
Scotland Yard said it was a terror incident and they ‘assess’ an IED triggered the blast. A hunt was on for a suspect the British media labelled as the ‘bucket bomber’.
Some reports indicated that the suspect was identified after investigators reviewed the CCTV footage at the station.
This is the fifth terrorism incident in the UK this year. But it’s the only one in 2017 in which nobody has died. The previous four saw 36 people killed.
The London Ambulance Service said 29 people have been treated in hospital. Police said that ‘most’ had ‘flash burns’.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said more police would be deployed in London, particularly on the transport network, but refused to say whether anyone had been arrested.
Prime Minister May said the incident was a ‘cowardly’ act ‘clearly intended to cause significant harm’.
Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism squad, SO15, has taken the lead in the investigation from the transport police.
‘Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, has declared it a terrorist incident,’ the police said in a statement earlier in the day.
‘The Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police attended the scene, along with colleagues from the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service. At present we are aware of a number of people who have suffered injuries,’ it said, adding that the station remains cordoned off and ‘we are advising people to avoid the area’.
