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Syrian refugee, 21, named as suspect in London train attack

LONDON — The second man arrested by police over last week’s bombing in a London train station that left dozens injured has been named as Syrian refugee Yahyah Farroukh.

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LONDON — The second man arrested by police over last week’s bombing in a London train station that left dozens injured has been named as Syrian refugee Yahyah Farroukh.

Mr Farroukh, 21, was registered as living in a property in Stanwell in Surrey county, south of London.

According to his Facebook page, Mr Farroukh had moved to Britain from the Syrian capital Damascus and studied English for speakers of other languages at West Thames College, near the Stanwell property.

The college said in a statement that “Yahyah Farroukh, who, according to media reports, is the second suspect detained in connection with the Parsons Green incident, was a former student at the college from December 2013 to June 2015.” It added that he began attending courses to learn English when he was 17.

Mr Suleman Sarwar, co-owner of Aladdin’s Fried Chicken, said Mr Farroukh worked there and was arrested on Saturday night at the end of his shift.

Mr Farroukh’s Facebook page says that he worked for an events company in London. In addition, photographs on the page also show him with family members and posing in front of a tourist spot in central London.

Neighbours of Mr Farroukh’s Stanwell property, which was cordoned off, said he moved in more than a year ago.

One of them told The Daily Telegraph: “There would be men going into his house and they all speak Arabic. Some of them wear caps on their heads and the long (traditional Arabic) dress. He (Mr Farroukh) didn’t wear traditional clothing and when he walked around, he was always on his mobile phone. There were always cars coming and going.”

Another neighbour, Mr Pat Hodge, told The Daily Telegraph: “I thought he was a student. He would always wave to us, the others wouldn’t. They would set out prayer mats in the garden. They always had something, like gadgets, in their hand, but there was no TV, no furniture in the house.”

Reports say that Mr Farroukh, and the first suspect nabbed over the London blast, an as-yet-unnamed 18-year-old Iraqi man, had lived at the home of the home of Ron and Penny Jones, aged 88 and 71, respectively.

The Joneses, who had been fostering the 18-year-old before his arrest, were honoured by Queen Elizabeth II for fostering more than 200 children, including refugees from Middle Eastern conflicts.

The Iraqi, who came to Britain aged 15 after his parents were killed, was said to be a “problem” to his foster parents and they had been contacting officials saying that they were unable to cope, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Footage obtained by broadcaster ITV shows a man near the Joneses’ house last Friday morning carrying a bag from Lidl supermarket. Images posted on social media following the attack appear to show wires protruding from a flaming bucket contained in a Lidl bag on the floor of the train carriage.

The Iraqi and Mr Farroukh are being held under the Terrorism Act and are being questioned at a London police station about last Friday’s attack.

Thirty people were injured when an improvised explosive device partly exploded aboard a crowded London train at Parsons Green station during the morning rush hour.

None of the injuries was life-threatening, and experts said it appears that the main charge of the bomb did not detonate.

After the rush-hour bombing, British officials raised the country’s terrorism threat level to the highest level, “critical”, meaning that an attack may be imminent.

They lowered it on Sunday to “severe”, and police said the investigation is making rapid progress.

Commuters returned to Parsons Green station yesterday for the first morning rush hour since the bombing. Police asked the travelling public to be vigilant and said there would be more armed police on the transit network for the time being.

Most of the injured in Friday’s explosion aboard a train suffered flash burns, while some were injured in the panicked rush to leave.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but British officials say there is no proof yet that it was involved.

Four other violent attacks in Britain this year have killed 36 people. Three were the work of attackers motivated by Islamic extremism, and one by anti-Muslim hatred.

In the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber struck a packed concert hall in Manchester in northern England, killing 22 people. The other attacks, near Parliament, on London Bridge and near a mosque in Finsbury Park in north London, involved vehicles and, in two cases, knives. AGENCIES

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