Armed soldiers deployed, 3 more arrests made after Manchester attack

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, May 24, 2017
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Armed soldiers have been deployed guarding Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and foreign embassies, police in the British capital said Wednesday.

The announcement came as police in Manchester announced that three men had been arrested in the city as part of their inquiries into the Monday suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena which left 22 people dead.

It brings to four of those being held after a 23-year-old was arrested Tuesday.

In response to the raising of the country's terror threat to critical, the highest level, the Metropolitan Police said it has increased police numbers and operations across London with immediate effect to guard against international terrorism.

"The public will see more armed officers, working alongside their neighborhood and specialist colleagues on proactive operations and targeted patrols, both on foot and in vehicles," said the Met in a statement.

Armed officers will provide support to teams of specialist police officers who have been trained to spot the tell-tale signs that a person may be carrying out hostile reconnaissance or committing other crime, the Met added.

"The approach is based on extensive research into the psychology of criminals and what undermines their activities," said a spokesman.

Soldiers will now be working under Met command to provide static armed guarding at key locations, said the spokesman. This will include Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Embassies and the Palace of Westminster.

London mayor Sadiq Khan urged people in the capital to report police if they see anything suspicious.

"The key thing is to be calm and vigilant. There is no reason for people to be alarmed. It's right that we are prudent," said Khan.

Khan said security experts were reviewing security for upcoming major sporting events in London as well as the current Chelsea Flower Show.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said around 4,000 troops would be on duty across Britain, working alongside local police forces at key and strategic points.

Rudd also confirmed in a media interview Wednesday that she had spoken to Washington after premature details emerged in the U.S. media about the identity of the suicide bomber who detonated a device at the Manchester Arena.

"The British police have been very clear they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity -- the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I've been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," said Rudd.

Security forces are urgently trying to establish whether the bomber had accomplices.

Meanwhile it was confirmed Wednesday that among the dead are Angelika and Marcin Klis, a Polish couple living in York.

Their daughter, a 20-year-old student at York College, had posted a photo of her parents on social media as she sought details of their whereabouts after the bombing.

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