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TEHRAN, March 11 - Amid hysteria surrounding the mysterious poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Britain is dedicating a significant part of the country’s anti-terrorism capacity to look for Moscow’s hand in the former Russian double agent’s misfortune.
TEHRAN,Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Amid hysteria surrounding the mysterious poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Britain is dedicating a significant part of the country’s anti-terrorism capacity to look for Moscow’s hand in the former Russian double agent’s misfortune.
The UK government has diverted significant resources, with eight out of Britain’s 11 anti-terrorism units currently helping to investigate the poisoning of former GRU agent Sergei Skripal, Home Secretary Amber Rudd revealed, at a time when a “severe” international terrorism threat hangs over Britain.
“I want to stress that they are proceeding with speed and professionalism. We are putting in enormous resources to ensure that they have all the support that they need to do that,” said Rudd, after chairing a meeting of Cobra, the UK’s emergencies committee.
The UK believes that Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were exposed to a nerve agent. The two were found slumped on a bench outside a shopping center in Wiltshire on March 4. British police say that more than 20 people in total were injured in the alleged attack, which has been described by authorities as “attempted murder.” Both victims remain unconscious and in a life-threatening condition.
Following the incident, authorities managed to collect 240 pieces of evidence and have identified some 200 witnesses to the crime, Rudd said, noting that 250 officers are taking part in the investigation. The incident is getting so much attention that the government will be sending the Armed Forces to Salisbury in order to handle potentially dangerous evidence in the area of the initial poisoning.
The BBC reported on Saturday night that traces of a rare nerve agent, thought to be used in the poisoning, were found in a local branch of Zizzi, a chain restaurant, and one of the five locations at the center of the police investigation.
While Rudd insisted that the investigators “need to be given the space and time” so that they can be “absolutely clear” when assigning blame for the attack, British officials continue to insinuate that a foreign power – presumably Russia – was involved. Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister, Boris Johnson vowed to respond “robustly” if evidence emerges of Russian involvement in the incident, seemingly disregarding that the former spy with a tainted reputation could have made enemies since settling in Britain in 2010.
Source:RT
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