LONDON (AFP) – British police were hunting Sunday for further potential suspects after arresting an 18-year-old man in the ferry departure area of the port of Dover on suspicion of involvement in the bombing of a London Underground train.
The man, who has not been named, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of committing, preparing, or instigating an act of terrorism after an attack in which 30 people were wounded at Parsons Green station.
“We’re keeping an open mind around whether more than one person is responsible for the attack,’’ Neil Basu of London’s Metropolitan Police told reporters.
Dover’s ferry terminal was evacuated during the arrest and “a number of items’’ were recovered, while the teenager is now in custody in London.
The bomb detonated in a packed train carriage on Friday morning with a large explosion followed by what eyewitnesses described as a “fireball’’. It was Britain’s fifth terror attack in six months.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
Residents of an evacuated street in Sunbury near London, where a police search in a house is ongoing, were allowed to go back home late on Saturday evening.
“Good news – all residents can now return,’’ Surrey police said on Twitter. “Policing activity will continue in the area – however there is no safety risk associated with this,’’ it added.
Local residents quoted in British media said the owners of the house were elderly foster parents.
“I was in my house with my children and there was a knock at the door from the police,’’ local resident Mojgan Jamali told the Press Association. “They told me to leave. They said: ‘You have one minute to get out of the house and get away’.’’
Britain’s threat level has been raised to “critical’’, indicating that another attack is feared, and soldiers have been deployed to guard key points to free up police for the investigation.
