British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the country's threat level to "critical" from "severe" following today's subway explosion attack at Parsons Green tube station in south-west London. A "critical" level typically means that the British government believes a terrorist attack is imminent.
Theresa May says UK terror threat level raised to critical, highest possible level, after London Tube blast https://t.co/HCBPJZo8XY pic.twitter.com/liMAODY2IV
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) September 15, 2017
As reported earlier in the day, at about 8 AM local time, a homemade bomb was detonated in a London metro station, injuring approximately 30 people. Following the bombing, Westminster raised the national threat level to "severe." Now, it has been raised again to "critical," the highest threat level possible.
The escalation in the terror level comes shortly after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion at the Parsons Green underground station in London which injured 22 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.
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.