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London, United Kingdom | AFP | British police arrested an 18-year-old man in the ferry departure area of the port of Dover on Saturday on suspicion of being involved in the bombing of a London Underground train and were looking for more potential suspects on the loose.
The man, who has not been named, was arrested on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating an act of terrorism after Friday’s attack in which 30 people were injured 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.
– ‘No safety risk’ –
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.
All residents can now return to their homes in #Sunbury – cordons still in place – more details on pic – please read before returning. pic.twitter.com/AhUJj528Ti
— Surrey Police (@SurreyPolice) September 16, 2017
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“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.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Saturday that police had made “very good progress” in their enquiries, while appearing to dispute claims by US President Donald Trump that a “loser terrorist” behind the attack was known to Scotland Yard.
“It’s much too early to say that,” Rudd said in a televised interview. “At the moment we have one arrest and we have an ongoing operation.”
Trump’s claims, made Friday on Twitter, had already garnered a terse rebuke from Prime Minister Theresa May, who said: “I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation.”
The improvised explosive device in a train at Parsons Green station, a quiet and well-off residential district, failed to detonate fully, according to media reports.
But the blast inflicted flash burns on passengers, and prompted dozens of others to flee in panic.
