29 hurt in terror attack on London train

London: An improvised explosive device was detonated on a London underground train on Friday morning, injuring 29 people in what police say was a terrorist incident. Counter-terrorism officers took charge of the investigation and were seeking to establish who had planted the device on a packed commuter train during rush hour.

Armed police and emergency services rushed to Parsons Green Underground station in west London after receiving reports of an explosion at 8.20am. The device comprised a bucket in a carrier bag with protruding wires, according to witness accounts and images on social media.

Passengers on the District Line train said the device burst into flames, leaving those nearest to it with burns. UK Prime Minister Theresa May said after chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee on Friday afternoon that the device on the train had been intended to cause “significant harm”. “Our thoughts are with those that have been injured in the attack,” she said.

This is the fifth attack the police have classified as “terrorist” in the UK this year. In March, a lone attacker killed four pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and a police officer guarding parliament before being shot dead. In May, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a concert in Manchester, killing 22, and in June, eight people died when three men linked to a jihadist network struck on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market.