Leicester Fire: Police Arrest Five People

Police have arrested five people in connection with a house fire in Leicester which killed a woman and her three children.

Leicestershire Police said in a statement that three women - aged 19, 20 and 27 - and two men aged 19 and 49 were detained by officers this afternoon.

"Forensic enquiries are still under way at the scene and local officers are undertaking patrols in the area," the statement added.

Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, died in the fire at her terraced home in Wood Hill, in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester, in the early hours of Friday.

Her children, 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Jamal, 17, and Bilal, 15, also died in their bedrooms.

The husband and father of the victims, Dr Muhammad Taufiq, has spoken of his grief in the wake of the fire. 

Police were called to the blaze by the fire service at 12.35am on Friday

Speaking at the Jame Mosque in Leicester, he said: "All of you know the tragic incident in ... which my entire family has passed away.

"I deeply miss my beautiful wife and three beautiful children. What has happened has happened, and nothing can be reversed.

"But I hope justice will prevail and in future this should not happen to any family in the UK."

Sky News understands that Leicestershire Police are investigating whether the victims of the blaze were mistakenly targeted in a revenge attack.

About half a mile away on Thursday afternoon, a man in his 20s, named locally as Antoin Akpom, was found injured by police officers in Kent Street.

He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he later died.

Three people, a man and two women, all aged 19, have been arrested in connection with the Kent Street murder.

Police have confirmed that there is no evidence to connect the four members of Dr Taufiq's family with the death in Kent Street.

Kent Street attack victim Antoin Akpom

Dr Taufiq, a neurosurgeon, returned to Leicester from Ireland, where he works.

He had been working at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and with private hospitals in the city, the Blackrock and Hermitage clinics.

A representative of Leicester's Jame Mosque, Mohammad Uwais, said Dr Taufiq had addressed members of the mosque on Saturday afternoon.

"He said that he's been comforted by the condolences he's received not just from Leicester, from the UK, from Ireland, but from the world," Mr Uwais told reporters.

"He accepts what God has destined for him and for his family, and that he thanks God in times of joy and also times of tribulation."

The family, originally from Pakistan, had a home in Ireland for at least 15 years before the children moved to the UK with their mother about five years ago for Islamic education.

Police on Saturday appealed to residents with information to come forward to help them find the perpetrators of the attacks which they said had left two families "devastated by events of the past 48 hours".

Police have said the house fire and a nearby murder may be linked

Roger Bannister, Assistant Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, said: "While we are investigating links between the two crimes there is absolutely no evidence to suggest those who died in the fire, or indeed anyone else who lives in that property, was involved in the assault in Kent Street.

"Because of the close proximity - in terms of time and location - of the two incidents, it is right that we look at whether there are links between the two crimes.

"However, at this stage in our investigations we have found nothing to suggest the residents of the house devastated by the fire had anything to do with the Kent Street incident.

"We have three people in custody in relation to the murder of the young man in Kent Street and we continue with the complex forensic investigations at Wood Hill.

"However, we know there are local people who know more about both incidents and the people responsible and we would appeal to their consciences. Two families have been devastated by events of the past 48 hours. Please help us to find those responsible."

Anyone with information about either attack can speak to their local beat team, call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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