ISIS claims responsibility for London underground blast
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists have claimed responsibility for an explosion at the Parsons Green underground station in London which injured 29 people on a packed rush hour train.
The claim was made through its propaganda wing, the Amaq News Agency, stating that an IS "detachment" was responsible for the blast.
Armed police rushed to the Parsons Green station where the bomb, a pressure-cooker device similar to the one used in the Boston Marathon, failed to fully detonate. Though 29 people have been injured, none of their wounds are believed to be serious or life-threatening, according to the London Ambulance Service.
Police have launched a manhunt for a suspect thought to be behind the attack, which they have identified through CCTV footage.
British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the "cowardly" attack "intended to cause significant harm." She announced the deployment of more armed police around the London's transport network.
Britain's top counter terrorism officer said on Friday that authorities are making excellent progress in the investigation and has asked permission for the military to get involved in order to free up police resources.
He further said it was routine for ISIS to claim responsibility for the attack, regardless of whether they were involved or not.
If confirmed, this would mark the fourth attack by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on Great Britain this year. The first was the Westminster Bridge attack, in which 52-year-old Khalid Masood mowed down a crowd of pedestrians in a car before stabbing a police officer to death. The Manchester Arena bombing then followed, in which a suicide bomber killed 22 people, many of them children, at an Ariana Grande concert in May. The third attack came in June, when a group of terrorists drove into pedestrians in London before going on a deadly stabbing rampage through local bars and restaurants.
The perpetrators were killed at the scene in all of the attacks.
