This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/21/parsons-green-bombing-police-make-sixth-arrest-in-south-london-raid

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Parsons Green bombing: police search south London house Parsons Green bombing: police search south London house
(about 1 hour later)
Police are searching a property in south London on Thursday morning after making a sixth arrest over the Parsons Green terror attack. Police are searching a property in south London after arresting a sixth person in connection with the Parsons Green tube bombing.
With a police car outside and officers standing guard, the Thornton Heath property was cordoned off as the search was carried out after the arrest of a 17-year-old boy shortly after midnight. The Thornton Heath house was cordoned off on Thursday morning with a police car outside and officers standing guard following the arrest of a 17-year-old boy shortly after midnight. Officers arriving at the scene carried equipment including garden rakes. Some appeared to be trying to gain access to an overgrown area at the rear of the property.
A man in a forensic suit was seen entering the property, which neighbours said had been a halfway house or hostel for young people for years. A man in a forensic suit was seen entering the property, which neighbours said had been a halfway house or hostel for young people.
One neighbour, Paula, 43, who declined to give her surname, said she witnessed the beginning of the raid.One neighbour, Paula, 43, who declined to give her surname, said she witnessed the beginning of the raid.
“I just heard banging, woke up, looked through my window and there was loads of police officers out here,” she said.“My husband came out to see if there was any concern. They said there wasn’t any concern, they were just acting on intelligence. I didn’t see them arresting anyone.”Describing the police, she said: “Some were in suits, some were in uniforms ... they looked like detectives.”Paula said police had knocked the door off its hinges and that she had seen it lying on the ground, but it looked intact on Thursday morning.“I didn’t see much more, I just heard the loud noise. I thought they were fighting originally.”Paula was among those who said that the address was a halfway house or hostel. She said it had operated in its current use for three years.“There’s different people that live there. I don’t know them; never had any problems with them before. I’ve never seen any women in there, mostly just young boys. They do look young but why they are living there on their own, I don’t know.“There is no foster parent, I’ve never seen any adult foster parents. Usually people come and do checks, I don’t know if they are social services.“I think there’s about six rooms over there; most of the time it’s full. They last for six months and then they go, I think individually [rather than as a group]. It’s quite shocking that this has happened.” “I just heard banging, woke up, looked through my window and there were loads of police officers out here,” she said.
A 28-year-old woman whose home faces the raided address said she was not particularly surprised to see it raided. “The house has been trouble in and out for a while,” she said.“They raided the house a couple years ago with armed police and took away two boys. I’ve lived here nine years and there’s probably been an incident with police every year, this one probably being the biggest.”She said that the kind of trouble previously surrounding the house had been “fights and - I don’t really know the details - drugs; nothing, from what I know, about terror.”She said she had not heard the raid taking place. “It must have been a very discreet raid because the raid I heard two years ago, I heard that and I heard them thumping the door.” “My husband came out to see if there was any concern. They said there wasn’t any concern, they were just acting on intelligence. I didn’t see them arresting anyone.”
Phil Burt, 67, who has lived at the opposite side of the street for 40 years, told the Press Association he heard “enormous shouts” at around midnight. He said the shouting, which he is not sure whether it came from the police or not, was so loud that it made at least three dogs in the area bark. Describing the officers involved, she said: “Some were in suits, some were in uniforms ... They looked like detectives.”
There are now six males in custody as investigations into the bombing continue. Three men, aged 25, 30, and 48, were detained in Newport, south Wales, 21-year-old Yahyah Farroukh was arrested in Hounslow, west London, and an 18-year-old was arrested in Dover. Paula said police had knocked the door off its hinges and she had seen it lying on the ground, but the door looked intact on Thursday morning.
A time limit on Farroukh’s detention is expected to expire on Thursday, while detectives have been given until Saturday to continue questioning the 18-year-old suspect. “I didn’t see much more; I just heard the loud noise. I thought they were fighting originally,” she said.
The five men and the 17-year-old boy were being detained at a police station in south London, Scotland Yard said. According to documents on the council website, the property was registered as a house in multiple occupation. HMOs can be used to house homeless people, unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers.
Friday’s attack happened during rush hour on a London underground train shortly after it pulled into Parsons Green station in west London. A bomb built inside a plastic bucket and placed inside a Lidl bag partly detonated. Experts say that photographs suggest the initiating charge had failed to detonate the main explosives. Council documents showed that the property owners had been ordered to remove litter from the property, under environmental regulations.
The train was packed with commuters and schoolchildren. Thirty people were injured. Some suffered flash burns and others had minor injuries as people trampled over others to try to escape. Pamela Emanuel, 54, whose home overlooks the address where the suspect was arrested, said the house was occupied by recent immigrants to the UK. Six young men lived there at any one time, she said. The most recent set had been there for about four months.
“They were not menacing, they were okay,” she said. “They were the best neighbours we’ve had [in that address] since it’s been there.”
The residents were young Middle Eastern men aged between 17 and 25, she said. “They were young, you could tell by the way that they behaved. They never gave any trouble; they were friendly enough.” She said the property had previously housed care leavers, who were regularly in trouble with police.
Paula backed up Emanuel’s account of the residents. “There’s different people that live there. I don’t know them; never had any problems with them before. I’ve never seen any women in there, mostly just young boys. They do look young, but why they are living there on their own, I don’t know,” she said.
“There is no foster parent, I’ve never seen any adult foster parents. Usually people come and do checks, I don’t know if they are social services. I think there’s about six rooms over there; most of the time it’s full. They last for six months and then they go, I think individually. It’s quite shocking that this has happened.”
A 28-year-old woman whose home faces the address said she was not particularly surprised to see it raided. “The house has been trouble in and out for a while,” she said.
“They raided the house a couple of years ago with armed police and took away two boys. I’ve lived here nine years and there’s probably been an incident with police every year, this one probably being the biggest.”
She said the type of difficulties previously concerning the house had been “fights, and I don’t really know the details, drugs ... Nothing, from what I know, about terror.”
She said she had not heard the raid taking place. “It must have been a very discreet raid, because the raid I heard two years ago, I heard that and I heard them thumping the door,” the woman said.
Phil Burt, 67, who has lived on the opposite side of the street for 40 years, said he heard “enormous shouts” at about midnight. He said the shouting was so loud it made at least three dogs in the area bark, but was unsure as to whether or not it came from police.
There are six males in custody as investigations into the bombing continue. Three men aged 25, 30, and 48 were arrested in Newport, south Wales, Yahyah Farroukh, 21, was held in Hounslow, west London, and an 18-year-old was arrested in Dover.
A time limit on Farroukh’s detention is expected to expire on Thursday, while detectives have been given until Saturday to continue questioning the 18-year-old.
The five men and the 17-year-old boy are being detained at a police station in south London, Scotland Yard said.
The attack at Parsons Green happened last Friday during rush hour on a London underground train shortly after it pulled into the west London station. A bomb built inside a plastic bucket held in a Lidl bag partly detonated. Experts say photographs suggest the initiating charge had failed to detonate the main explosives.
The train was packed with commuters and schoolchildren. Thirty people were injured. Some sustained flash burns and others minor wounds as people scrambled to escape.