18-year-old arrested
British police arrested an 18-year-old man in the southern port of Dover yesterday in a "significant" development in the hunt for the people behind a London commuter train bombing that injured 30 people a day earlier.
Prime Minister Theresa May put Britain on the highest security level of "critical" late on Friday, meaning an attack may be imminent, and soldiers and armed police deployed to secure strategic sites and hunt down the perpetrators.
The home-made bomb shot flames through a packed commuter train during the Friday morning rush hour in west London but apparently failed to detonate fully.
"We have made a significant arrest in our investigation this morning," said Neil Basu, Senior National Co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing.
"Although we are pleased with the progress made, this investigation continues and the threat level remains at critical."
The arrest was made in the port area of Dover, where passenger ferries sail to France.
The blast on the London tube train at the Parsons Green underground station was the fifth major terrorism attack in Britain this year and was claimed by Islamic State.
Britain deployed hundreds of soldiers at strategic sites such as nuclear power plants and ministry of defence sites yesterday to free up armed police to help in the hunt for those behind the bombing.
The last time Britain was put on "critical" alert was after a man killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May. Prior to that it had not been triggered since 2007.
The Islamic State militant group have claimed other attacks in Britain this year, including two in London and the pop concert in Manchester.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim about Parsons Green, for which Islamic State's news agency 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.
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