London - Egypt Today
The UK terror threat level has been reduced to severe from critical following what Amber Rudd, the home secretary, described as “good progress” in the investigation into the bomb attack on a London underground train that injured 30 people, the guardian reported on Sunday.
Military personnel who were mobilized when the threat level was raised on Friday evening would return to normal duties, Rudd said. The decision was made by the independent joint terrorism analysis centre (JTAC) based at MI5 and means an attack is considered highly likely but is no longer “expected imminently”.
Announcing the decision, Rudd urged the public to “continue to be vigilant but not be alarmed”.
“What it indicates is that good progress has been made,” she said. “[JTAC] has clearly decided that sufficient progress has been made to have the confidence but it is still an ongoing operation.”
She said there was no evidence that other explosive devices were in circulation, as had reportedly been claimed by representatives of terrorist Daesh group.
Police made a second arrest in the investigation late on Saturday and searched a residential property in Stanwell, Surrey on Sunday.
The second suspect a 21-year-old man was arrested in Hounslow, west London, at about 11.50pm local time on Saturday in connection with the explosion at Parsons Green station, the Metropolitan police said.
Police made “significant” arrest of an 18-year-old man in the departure area of Dover port earlier on Saturday and he remains in custody under terrorism laws. Investigations also continued at a property in Sunbury-on-Thames following a raid by armed anti-terror police.
About 60 homes in the area were temporarily evacuated “as a precaution”. The address is believed by investigators to be connected to the making of the explosives that partly detonated at Parsons Green at 8.20am local time causing flash burns to some passengers and a stampede that injured others.
Source : Mena