Parsons Green bombing: police make two more arrests in south Wales

Three men from south Wales have been arrested by police investigating the Parsons Green tube bombing, bringing the number of people in custody to five.

Two men aged 30 and 48 were held at an address in Newport at 5.10am on Wednesday by officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command.

Met officers, supported by Gwent police, arrested a 25-year-old man at a separate address in Newport at 7pm on Tuesday.

The arrests followed two others on Saturday, one of an 18-year-old in Dover as he was about to board a ferry to France, and the other of Yahyah Farroukh, 21, in Hounslow, west London.

Dozens of police officers and detectives were involved in searches of the two addresses in Newport.

The house raided on Wednesday morning was on West Street, close to the city centre.

A neighbour said she saw police enter a property before dawn and a man being led out in handcuffs a short while later.

She said more men were taken away from the house in a police van and forensics teams had been at the property since.

Another woman said: “It was crazy, there were loads of police cars here and they all arrived at the same time. About 15 officers went into the house.

“The first guy was taken out in handcuffs; he was wearing a blue hoodie and covering his face. Officers have been coming out with bags ever since.”

The other search was focused on a terraced house in Jeffrey Street next to a shop backing on to a railway.

Sully Ali, 19, said of the arrest on Tuesday: “A big van pulled up and six officers got out and jumped this guy. There were two armed officers there; they didn’t have their guns pointed at him, but they had them on show.

“The guy was smiling. I didn’t hear him saying anything or the police saying anything to him.”

Ali said the arrested man did jobs for local residents. “They were Met police officers, they were wearing hats saying Met police,” he said.

Other neighbours said they thought the arrested man was a student. Shabnaz Bibi said: “It was all over very quickly. He was pushed to the floor and was smiling as he was arrested. He was then put into a police car and driven away.”

Her son, Salman, 19, said: “The officers were armed, but they didn’t point their guns at him. He was sort of smiling as they took him away. They were Met police officers, but then a lot of local police turned up to close off the street and carry out the searches.”

The road remained sealed off on Wednesday morning, but residents were not evacuated and could move in and out.

All three men were arrested under the Terrorism Act.

The five men are being held in connection with the attack on a District line underground train in west London last Friday, which left 30 people injured. It is believed the bomb did not detonate fully and none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Commander Dean Haydon, the head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday.

“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.

“We anticipate that the searches will take some days to complete and may cause further disruption. However, it is important that we continue with these searches and I’d like to thank all those affected for their support, patience and cooperation.”