Second blast carried out at terror suspect's home

A British army bomb disposal team carried out a second controlled explosion at the home of a 19-year-old terror suspect today.

Soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corps muffled the sound and impact of the blast at Comb Paddock in Bristol with sandbags.

The detonation was the second in three days to be carried out at the house of the teenager, who has been named locally as Andrew Ibrahim.

The teenager, who is understood to have recently converted to Islam, is currently being questioned by police in Bristol.

They have been granted seven days to hold him after his arrest on Thursday.

A third controlled explosion is expected to take place just outside the house within the next hour.

Between 40 and 50 people have now been evacuated from their homes while bomb disposal experts work at the scene.

The team was initially called to the suspect’s home to carry out a controlled explosion outside the house, a nondescript 1950s red-brick terrace property in the Westbury-on-Trym area of Bristol, at around 2am yesterday.

Neighbours heard a loud blast and were given letters informing them about the arrest.

One resident who had to be evacuated, Marc Cummings, a 38-year-old electrician, said: ``It's chaos - you can't go out to get a paper, I can't park my van, you can't do anything.''

He and other neighbours have been told to stay clear and await further instructions.

Some residents have been forced to spend two nights away from home while others, further from the property in question, were only evacuated this morning.

At a press conference, Avon and Somerset Police, who refused to officially name the suspect, did not rule out further arrests.

Officers now have until 1.40pm next Thursday – a week after his arrest – to hold the man.

Neighbours described Ibrahim, who they said had not lived at the house for very long, as heavily built and often seen wearing traditional Muslim dress and carrying a satchel.

Others said they had confronted him about “loud chanting” just a few days ago.

Representatives of Bristol’s Muslim community have voiced their support for the police.

Local Muslim leader Farooq Siddique said Ibrahim was “not known” to Bristol’s Muslim community.

He said: “This is obviously a very difficult time for the Muslim community in Bristol. It is a blow to community relationships in the city.

“We want the police to be allowed to do their jobs as simply and as quickly as possible. We need to be united in this.”

Sources who claimed to have worked with Ibrahim said he had endured a “difficult few years” and had been “unsettled”.

One, who said he believed Ibrahim had recently enrolled on a course at the University of the West of England, said: “He was struggling in life but I had no idea he had become a Muslim before I saw him two weeks ago.

“I could not believe my eyes. He was dressed in full robes and had a beard. He must have undergone a massive change in identity.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts confirmed that the man was not arrested at the house but somewhere else in the city.

“This is a genuine incident which we are taking extremely seriously,” she said.

She confirmed that the man lived on his own at the address but said officers had not ruled out the possibility that he was acting with others.

She added: “At this stage I cannot rule out that he was acting alone or that there won’t be further arrests.

“Obviously we are in the early stages of this investigation. Extensive inquiries are ongoing and obviously things will unfold as the days go by.”

Police also revealed that the man had previously come into contact with officers.