A knife attack which saw two rail passengers and a policeman stabbed by a man shouting 'Allahu Akbar' is being treated as terrorism, Manchester police have said.

Anti-terror officers raided the 25-year-old suspect's home in the Cheetham Hill area of the city today as they confirmed two of the victims will be in hospital 'for some time'.

Neighbours of the property raided say they believe it is home to a Somali couple and four of their five children, who all moved to the UK from the Netherlands around 12 years ago.

Footage of the aftermath of the 'frenzied' attack at Manchester's Victoria Station last night shows a man being pinned down by five police officers, with blood stains on the pavement.

Another video shows the suspect shouting 'Allahu Akbar', meaning 'God is most great' in Arabic, as he was put in the back of a police van. He was also heard screaming: 'Long live the Caliphate', a reference to the enclave carved out by terror group ISIS.

A witness said he also shouted: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of s*** is going to keep happening.'

A witness who considered jumping onto the tracks to escape the knifeman took this photo of the aftermath after two rail passengers and a policeman were stabbed last night

Pictures of the aftermath show the suspect's trainer on the floor as an officer removes the knife. It is thought the attacker was armed with two knives

Anti-terror police have raided a house in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester

A number of people, thought to be the suspect's family, were led away by police this afternoon

Police have been coming and going from the Cheetham Hill property, where neighbours say a Somali family have lived for 12 years

Nousha Babaakachel, a neighbour of the home raided, said a Somali family live at the address.

She said the couple have two sons are at university, one working at Manchester Airport and the youngest son is back in Somalia. They also have a daughter.

Both parents attend a local mosque, Ms Babaakachel said.

Witnesses to last night's events have praised the British Transport Police officer who was stabbed in the shoulder after 'bravely and immediately' confronting the attacker during a routine patrol.

BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan said: 'I am incredibly proud of the four officers who were immediately on scene last night, detaining a man who was wielding a knife.

'They were fearless, running towards danger and preventing further harm coming to passengers.

'Unfortunately however, one of our police officers suffered a stab injury to their shoulder and we're all relieved that this is not more serious. It is good news that he has now been discharged from hospital, we are all wishing him a speedy recovery.'

Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'My thoughts are with those who were injured in the suspected terrorist attack in Manchester last night. I thank the emergency services for their courageous response.'

Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted on Tuesday evening: 'Just had an update from @TerrorismPolice about last night's £ManchesterVictoria incident and their investigation. Can't praise police and emergency services response enough - swift and brave.'

In footage, said to show the suspect being put in the back of a police van after his arrest, he can be heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

It is understood the property is the last known address of the man being questioned by police

A police officer stood guard outside the home, where a Somali family of seven are said to live

A man and a woman were pictured receiving treatment after the incident on Monday evening

A witness told the Daily Mirror: 'As soon as I heard the screaming they were running to the scene to protect everyone. They are heroes.'

Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody as his home is searched. They could not confirm whether he had previously been flagged to them.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said a couple in their 50s suffered multiple stab wounds in the 'frenzied' and 'random' attack around 9pm, during which the attacker wielded two knives.

Mr Jackson said: 'We believe we have identified the man in custody. In fact we are currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester.

'We know the attacker arrived at the location and soon after he attacked two people, a man and a woman, who have suffered very serious injuries. Whilst serious, thankfully these are not life threatening.'

Police have stepped up patrols in Manchester today in the wake of the terror attack

Forensics experts have been working at the scene of the attack as part of the investigation

Chief Constable's full statement on terror Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: 'Last night we experienced a horrific attack on people out to simply enjoy the New Year's Eve celebrations in Manchester. My thoughts are with the couple who are still being treated in hospital for their serious injuries and with the brave British Transport Police officer who was also stabbed during the attack. 'I know that the events last night will have affected many people and caused concern. That the incident happened so close to the scene of the terrorist attack on 22 May 2017 makes it even more dreadful. Let me give you the details of what happened last night. 'Just before 9pm the British Transport Police officers at Victoria Train Station responded to a man armed with a knife and swiftly detained him. The officers acted with incredible bravery in tackling the armed attacker at the busy Metrolink station and ensured he was immediately detained. He remains in custody here in Manchester. 'We are treating this as a terrorist investigation which is being led by counter terrorism officers with support from Greater Manchester Police. They were working throughout the night to piece together the details of what happened and to identify the man who was arrested. 'This detailed work will continue and we are currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester which is believed to be where the man had most recently been living. Our work will continue to ensure we get to the full facts of what happened and why it took place.' Advertisement

The station where the attack unfolded is next to Manchester Arena, where suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people on May 22. The area was reopened after a cordon was lifted this morning.

Witness Sam Clack, who came within touching distance of the attacker, said he heard the man shout 'Allah' as he launched the attack.

Mr Clack, a BBC producer, was on a platform at Manchester Victoria railway station waiting for a tram home when he witnessed the attack.

The 38-year-old said: 'I just heard this most blood-curdling scream and looked down the platform. What it looked like was a guy in his 60s with a woman of similar age and another guy all dressed in black.

'It looked like they were having a fight but she was screaming in this blood curdling way. I saw police in high-vis come towards him.

'He came towards me. I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12-inch blade. It was just fear, pure fear.'

Mr Clack said police officers used a Taser and pepper spray before 'six or seven' officers jumped on the man and held him down.

He said he heard the suspect saying: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries this sort of s*** is going to keep happening.'

Mr Clack said it looked like both the man in his 60s and the woman with him had been stabbed, but both were conscious and were walked to a waiting ambulance.

He said he also heard the knifeman shouting 'Allah' before and during the attack.

Police appeared 'within seconds' and the knifeman backed down the platform towards where Mr Clack was standing alone.

A close-up of a police officer at the scene shows the suspect's knife lying on the ground

A discharged taser pictured on the platform alongside police restrained the suspect on Friday evening

Mr Clack described how he feared the man would attack him.

'I just had a feeling in the pit of my stomach,' he said. 'Here's a man who's very agitated, angry, skittish. It appears he had already attacked someone. He had police coming towards him and he's coming towards me.

'I thought what I need to do is jump onto the tracks because next thing he's going to do is turn around and stab me. He's looking about, side to side and jumpy.

'At one point one of the police officers fired the Taser but it missed him. Then he got pepper sprayed and tasered and he want to the ground.

'The guy, his exact words were, he said: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of s*** is going to keep happening'.'

He added: 'It was scary. I have never been so scared in my life. Someone with a knife six to eight feet away, he had just stabbed someone. It was the proximity.

'It just highlights the fact that it can happen anywhere. It's just a guy with a knife on a platform. It can happen anywhere. Anyone can do it.'

A police officer (right) could be seen bending down to pick up what appears to be a long knife and put it in an evidence bag as the attacker is restrained just a few feet away

Police officers were quickly on the scene and one witness said he heard the knifeman shout 'Allah'

A police sergeant in his 30s injured in the attack has been released from hospital, while the other two victims are currently receiving treatment.

A British Transport Police spokesperson said the woman has injuries to her face and abdomen and the man has injuries to his abdomen, while a BTP officer has a stab wound in his shoulder - all of which are described as 'serious but not life-threatening'.

In footage posted on Snapchat reportedly showing the suspect being put in the back of a police van, he can be heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as he is led away by officers.

Another eyewitness, named only as Rebecca, told Mirror Online: 'I heard the most bloodcurdling scream I've ever heard and turned to see everyone running towards me.

'Some guy told me to run. 'Keep running' was all he kept saying - 'just keep running'. I jumped off the tram track and started to run down the tram lines and hid behind some concrete slabs under one of the arches.

The Metrolink has been cordoned off and the station is currently shut down while police investigate the scene.

Police worked quickly to cordon off the scene of the attack and Metrolink services have since been suspended as they investigate

A view of the platform where the attack took place shows a discarded shoe lying on the ground

Paramedic equipment was also left at the scene after emergency services attended

The attack took place just a few hundred meters away from the Manchester Arena, scene of the deadly bombing in May 2017 which killed 23 revellers at an Ariana Grande concert.

British Transport Police said in a statement: 'Officers are attending Manchester Victoria station following reports of a man wielding a knife. We received the call at 8.52pm on Monday, 31 December.

'A man has been detained and two members of the public, a man and a woman have been taken to hospital with knife injuries.

'A BTP officer is also receiving treatment for a stab wound to the shoulder. British Transport Police remain at the scene along with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and the North West Ambulance Service.'

Praise for bystanders who rushed to aid of Manchester stabbing victims A woman who went to the aid of a man and woman injured in a knife attack in Manchester last night has been praised online. Two train passengers and a policeman suffered knife wounds when a man shouting shouting 'Allahu Akbar' went on the rampage at Manchester Victoria station last night. Pictures from the scene show two of the victims, who are both in their 50s, being helped by two women police officers and members of the public. Social media users praised one of the women helping, saying the good actions of passers-by should receive as much attention as those of the attacker. Social media users have praised a woman seen with her arm around one of those injured in the Manchester knife attacks last night Former prosecutor Nazir Afzal was among those praising the woman's actions Former top prosecutor Nazir Afzal tweeted: 'Awful news but Manchester has shown how it responds to those who try to divide us 'The woman with hijab helping victims is far more reflective of Muslims than the idiot with a knife.' Another Twitter user from Manchester added: 'Reading reports about the Victoria Station attack and got to say the only photo that should go viral is of the Muslim lady wearing a hijab helping the victims. 'Good people exist. We can't let the actions of a few taint our view of the many.' Police have yet to say whether the knifings were a terrorist attack, although anti-terror police are investigating. A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: 'Despite unverified speculation, it is unclear what the motives are behind this horrible attack. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, including a brave policeman. 'We hope the perpetrator is brought to justice. We must not allow this act to overshadow our hopes for a positive year ahead.' Advertisement

ISIS urge British extremists to carry out 'horror and misery' UK attack during festive season

by Larisa Brown, Middle East Correspondent for the Daily Mail

Islamic State jihadists yesterday used encrypted apps to urge extremists in Britain to carry out a knife attack in Westminster during the festive season.

They told members of closed groups on the encrypted Telegram messaging app to bring 'horror and misery' to non-believers over the New Year, it can be revealed.

One image circulated showed a crowd of people outside Big Ben watching fireworks with a man carrying a bloodied knife. There was also a splatter of blood over the image of Parliament.

In Arabic and also translated in English, it read: 'Hunt them O Muwahid (a believer in Allah).'

It had chilling echoes of the Westminster terror attack in March 2017 when Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians before fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer.

Armed police patrolling through central London on Monday night as New Years Eve celebrations got underway

In a separate document posted on the app, known for its use by terrorists, IS extremists explained in graphic detail who to target with a knife.

The terror manual suggested targeting a 'drunken kafir (non-believer)' or someone 'in an alley close a night club or another place of debauchery'.

'It may also help to carry a baton or some kind of concealable blunt object, such as a baseball bat, to strike the victim's head', it said.

This would immobilise him 'before cutting his throat or stabbing him in other lethal areas to finish him off', it recommended.

The call to inflict bloodshed in Europe has significantly increased in recent days, with the group appearing to have a 'new energy', according to intelligence experts.

The documents were circulated in closed groups on Telegram and intercepted by cyber intelligence company Global Intelligence Insight.

They said most of the accounts are managed by individuals with extensive operational experience, both in recruitment and radicalisation.

'According to our analysis we have been seeing a growing increase in the level of threat that has been used,' a spokesman for the company said.

There were also threats against the US, France, Italy and Spain in numerous languages including in Arabic, English and Russian.

A Metropolitan Police boat patrols the River Thames as revellers wait for the start of fireworks on London's Embankment for the New Year celebrations

Some of the Telegram groups have hundreds of members, others with just a few which are used for 'operational tasking'.

They are also actively pushing and circulating old terror manuals from Rumiyah Magazine.

These are urging extremists to inflict mass casualties with vans such as the one used in the London Bridge attack.

Vasco Amador, CEO of GGII, who intercepted the terrorists communications, said: 'They are putting a lot of effort into increasing their online reach in order to stimulate terror attacks and recent trends in activity are greater than we have seen for some time.

'There are thousands of people interacting in theses communications channels all over the world and it is clear there are British supporters in there as well.'

Philip Ingram MBE, a former Colonel in British military intelligence and chairman of GII, said there was a seeming 'new energy' in IS's online radicalisation efforts.

He said: 'The volume of information that is circulating about how to carry out attacks, where to acquire weapons, how to manufacture explosives, how to maintain security, is huge.

'Extremist terrorism has not gone and the threats to Europe and the UK through 2019 will remain extremely high.'

IS has nearly been defeated militarily in Syria and Iraq but many have fled to countries such as Afghanistan.

There are fears battle-hardened jihadists could also try to return to the UK.