British counter-terrorism police have made two further arrests in connection with last week’s London Underground terror attack, with a 48-year-old man and a 30-year-old man detained in Newport in South Wales early on Wednesday. The 17-year-old was detained under the Terrorism Act during a raid on the property in Thornton Heath, south London, shortly after midnight on Thursday.
Another man was arrested in Newport on Tuesday night while two others, an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old, were held by counter-terrorism officers on Saturday after separate arrests in Surrey. All three remain in custody.
Friday’s incident left 29 injured when an improvised explosive device partly exploded during morning rush hour on the London Underground at Parsons Green in south-west London.
Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met Counter Terrorism Command, said it was a fast-moving investigation. “We now have five men in custody and searches are continuing at four addresses. Detectives are carrying out extensive inquiries to determine the full facts behind the attack.”
However, the attack was claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.
“The number of people injured could have been much higher had the bomb, which was concealed within a supermarket carrier bag, fully exploded,’’ experts said.
Authorities have noted that the materials used to construct the Parsons Green station bomb were easily purchased online or at retail stores and that the device could have been built from instructions available online.
In the wake of the attack, British Prime Minister Theresa May has taken issue with the longevity of online terrorist content, noting that the average lifespan of Islamic State propaganda material online – 36 hours – is “too long.”
“Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online.
“The industry also needs to develop technological solutions which would have prevented before it being uploaded in the first place,’’ May said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
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