A home-made bomb on a packed rush-hour commuter train in London engulfed a carriage in flames and injured 29 people on Friday, but apparently failed to fully explode, in Britain's fifth major terrorism incident this year.
Passengers heading into the British capital fled in panic after the blast as the train was about to depart Parsons Green station in West London at 8:20 am (0720 GMT).
Some suffered burns and others were injured in a stampede to escape the station, one of the above-ground stops on the underground "Tube" network, but health officials said none were thought to be in a serious condition.
"We now assess that this was a detonation of an improvised explosive device," Britain's top counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley, told reporters. Police said a hunt involving hundreds of detectives backed by the intelligence services was under way to find out who was responsible. Rowley declined to say if the suspected bomber had been on the train, saying it was a live investigation. Prime Minister Theresa May called the incident a "cowardly attack" and said the national threat level had been raised a notch to its highest level, "critical".
The Islamic State militant group, which has said it was behind several attacks on Western cities in recent years, including two attacks in London and one in Manchester this year, claimed responsibility through its news agency, Amaq. It was impossible to verify the claim, for which 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.
Pictures taken at the scene showed a slightly charred white bucket with a supermarket freezer bag on the floor of one train carriage. The bucket, still intact, was in flames and there appeared to be wires coming out of the top. "I was on second carriage from the back. I just heard a kind of 'whoosh'. I looked up and saw the whole carriage engulfed in flames making its way towards me," Ola Fayankinnu, who was on the train, told Reuters.
"There were phones, hats, bags all over the place and when I looked back I saw a bag with flames." Charlie Craven said he had just got on the train when the device exploded.
"Literally within three seconds of putting your bag down, the doors just closing, we hear a loud explosion," he told Reuters. "I looked around and saw this massive fireball ... coming down the carriage." He said terrified passengers fled, fearing a second explosion or a gunman, with people being knocked to the ground and crushed in the stampede to escape.
Outside the station, a woman was carried off on a stretcher with her legs covered in a foil blanket while others were led away swathed in bandages. The health service said 29 people had been treated in hospital, many suffering from flash burns.
In 2005, 52 people were killed when four British Islamists carried out suicide bomb attacks on three London underground trains and a bus, and this year Britain has suffered four attacks that killed a total of 36 people.
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