London: A Pakistani-origin youth was killed in an explosion in northwest London suspected to have been triggered by a teenage girl gang using a liquid bomb to settle a feud with a schoolmate.

Three houses were destroyed by the impact of the blast in Harrow, killing 26-year-old Emad Qureshi, a resident of a neighbouring house, and leaving the intended target 17-year-old Charlotte Anderson - in intensive care unit of a hospital with severe burns.

Detectives said a gang of girls aged 16 and 17 were suspected of pouring a purple liquid through the letterbox of the house hours before the blast. They are investigating whether it was a form of explosive researched on the internet or a type of petrol bomb, the Daily Telegraph reported in its website.

Qureshi, who lived with his parents next door, had just finished a post-graduate degree in computing.

Police officials said there are several possibilities, one of which is that this was a home-made bomb. The methods for making these liquid explosives are all over the internet, they said.

Chief Inspector Colin Sutton told the media that Charlotte was pulled from the rubble by neighbours after the explosion.

Police said that 10 hours before the explosion a gang of girls had been causing a disturbance and that a resident, understood to be Charlotte, called them to complain.

Source : PTI