*London: *British police requested military assistance in investigating anerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent as speculation mountedFriday about how London could respond if a state actor were to blame.
Police extended the cordon around the modest suburban home of SergeiSkripal in Salisbury, the quiet city in southwestern England where he andhis daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench on Sunday.
The pair remain unconscious in a critical but stable condition, while NickBailey, one of the first police officers on the scene, is now sitting upand talking after initially being admitted to intensive care.
With police also hurt in the attack, pressure is intensifying on PrimeMinister Theresa May to find and punish the culprits.
The involvement of “a British citizen, especially a policeman, requires theimmediate and strong involvement of the British authorities,” Chatham Houseanalyst Mathieu Boulegue told AFP.
Around 21 people have been treated, according to Kier Pritchard, chiefconstable for Wiltshire Police.
“A number of those have been through the hospital treatment process,they’re having blood tests, they’re having treatment in terms of supportand advice,” he added.
Authorities are racing to find the source of the nerve agent used against66-year-old Skripal, who came to Britain in 2010 as part of a spy swap, aspoliticians warned it bore the hallmarks of an attack by Russia.
National counter-terrorism police, who are leading the investigation,announced on Friday that they had requested assistance from the military”to remove a number of vehicles and objects from the scene”.
“Military assistance will continue as necessary during this investigation,”they added, with media reporting that more than 100 personnel may beinvolved.
During a visit to the site on Friday, interior minister Amber Rudd calledthe attack “outrageous” but urged people to “give the police the space theyneed to really go through the area carefully, to do their investigation”.APP/AFP