Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed at strategic sites across Britain’s streets following the Parsons Green terror attack which saw an Improvised Explosive Device detonated on a London underground tube.
Soldiers have been sent out onto the streets in a bid to free up police time to allow officers to hunt the suspects behind the attack on the District line train which left at least 29 people injured.
Theresa May raised the terror threat level to critical in the wake of the bomb, meaning another attack is imminent.
The home-made bomb, which apparently failed to detonate properly, was the fifth major terror attack in Britain this year and was claimed by the Islamic State.
The militants have claimed other attacks in the UK this year, including two in London and one at a pop concert in Manchester.
The attack at Parsons Green tube station prompted the Government to take the rare step of deploying soldiers.
Mrs May said in a statement: ”For this period, military personnel will replace police officers on guard duties at certain protected sites.
“The public will see more armed police on the transport network and on our streets providing extra protection. This is a proportionate and sensible step which will provide extra reassurance and protection while the investigation progresses.”
The bomb struck as passengers were travelling to the centre of the capital.
Some suffered burns and others were injured in a stampede to escape from the station, one of the above-ground stops on the underground network.
Health officials said nobody was thought to be in a serious condition.
Pictures taken at the scene showed a charred white plastic bucket in a Lidl shopping bag on the floor of a carriage with wires coming out of the top.
Ola Fayankinnu, who was on the train, said: “I was on the 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.
“There were phones, hats, bags all over the place and when I looked back I saw a bag with flames.”
The UK’s most senior counter-terrorism officer Mark Rowley said late on Friday that the investigation was progressing well.
He said: ”We are chasing down suspects.
”Hundreds of police officers are pursuing numerous lines of enquiry, trawling through hours of CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses.”
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