Three more suspects in London Tube attack arrested as investigation widens

British police in south Wales arrested three more men in connection with last week’s bombing of a commuter train in west London.

The new arrests mean five people are now being questioned by detectives over the attack, which injured 30 people.

A 25-year-old man was arrested late on Tuesday evening in Newport while two others, aged 48 and 30, were detained at another address in the Welsh town in the early hours of yesterday, London police said.

“This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday,” said Comd Dean Haydon, head of counter terrorism command with the Metropolitan Police, the London force.

“We now have five men in custody and searches are continuing at four addresses. Detectives are carrying out extensive inquiries to determine the full facts behind the attack.”

The operation came as Britain remains on high alert after last week’s attempted bombing.

Yesterday morning, the area around Liverpool Street station in London’s financial district was evacuated as armed police investigated a suspicious package. But cordons were lifted after it was found not to be a threat.

The national terrorist threat level was raised to critical in the aftermath of Friday’s blast, but has since returned to severe, meaning further attacks are considered highly likely.

An 18-year-old was arrested in the departure lounge at the port of Dover on Saturday and another suspect, 21, was detained hours later in the west London suburb of Hounslow.

Both were said by local media to have links to a property in Sunbury-on-Thames, a town just outside London, where police were carrying out a major search.

The house belongs to a couple who have fostered hundreds of children, including refugees. The leader of the local authority said the 18-year-old was an Iraqi who had come to Britain as an orphan.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack although British and US officials have cast doubt on the claim, saying there was no evidence that any recognised militant group had ordered or organised the bombing.

Friday’s bombing was the fifth major attack in Britain this year to be regarded by authorities as a terrorist incident. The other attacks and bombings have claimed the lives of 36 people.