Possible Bomb attack in London

[Koryu Rich]

It looks like someone just attacked the tube system and a bus in London. News sites are reporting a hell of a lot of injuries and eyewitness reports talk of seeing a bomb blast ripping a double decker bus in two.

More info:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4659093.stm

[Bammx2]

Sure nuff.
Been sitting here watching it on the news.
Maybe it's just someone's way of saying "stuff the congestion charge"!
I wish...........

[terryl965]

It is terrible thing this world six bomb attacks in the subway of england and one report said 2 dead another said 20, all I know is my prayers goes out to all the people who had to go through this ordeal.

Terry Lee Stoker

[jonah2]

Inevitable 'they' would bring the fight here (i assume terrorism), didn't think it would be yet though - Not going to say any more, looking at the news through serious red mist!!!!!!

Thoughts and prayers to the victims and families

Jonah

[Kempogeek]

It is terrible thing this world six bomb attacks in the subway of england and one report said 2 dead another said 20, all I know is my prayers goes out to all the people who had to go through this ordeal.

Terry Lee Stoker
Amen to that! BTW, I've always wanted to visit London and England in general. This will not stop me from any possible visits in the future. I have a few friends there that I would like to see and also walk across Abbey Road.( The Beatles geek in me) Prayers are with them as well......Steve

[Don Roley]

It looks like the dead will be in the hundreds.

I have got to say this... you have to admire the genius of their planning form a purely efficiency based viewpoint. Al Queda seems to have waited until the police and intelligence services were distracted by the vast number of illeagle and disruptive activities of those protesting the G-8 meeting to launch such a deadly attack.

One part of me wants to punch every G-8 protestor in the mouth for making it so easy for them, and another part worries about the draconian steps that may be taken due to this new reality.

Very confused and hurt.

[Brian R. VanCise]

My prayers and thoughts go out to all of the victims!

Brian R. VanCise

[Floating Egg]

I wonder how much planning was involved. Was their goal massive loss of life or just disruption? If the death toll isn't high will it still be considered a success by the group?

[jonah2]

I wonder how much planning was involved. Was their goal massive loss of life or just disruption? If the death toll isn't high will it still be considered a success by the group?
bombs on rush hour traffic on one of the busiest underground systems of the world - I think the target was loss of life don't you. Disruption will of course be massive but temporary.

As to their goal - what exactly do terrorist gain - the IRA have been active for over three decades, have they acheived their goals?

Jonah

[Don Roley]

Osama Bin Laden has always seemed to go for the targets that can get the biggest attention in the Arab world. Instead of attacking economic targets- like introducing mad cow disease to places, he has gone for the things that would lead to demonstrators chanting his name in Islamic countries.

This target seems to fit the bill. Most folks in Syria will not know that the massive security around the G-8 was hundreds of kilometers away in Scotland. They will only know that despite the massive security, they still managed to kill a lot of people under their noses in the UK.

[michaeledward]

It looks like the dead will be in the hundreds.

I have got to say this... you have to admire the genius of their planning form a purely efficiency based viewpoint. Al Queda seems to have waited until the police and intelligence services were distracted by the vast number of illeagle and disruptive activities of those protesting the G-8 meeting to launch such a deadly attack.

One part of me wants to punch every G-8 protestor in the mouth for making it so easy for them, and another part worries about the draconian steps that may be taken due to this new reality.

Very confused and hurt.
I wonder how many legal, non-disruptive activities there are around the G8 meeting. I wonder if you want to punch those protestors in the mouth, too. I wonder when the citizens on the world lost the right to petition their leaders.

Ahh, the things we give up in the name of 'security'.

[Aegis]

I truly hope that Bin Laden is found and tried. Preferably in America, where he can be put to death for his multitude of warcrimes.

[Tremble]

Seven bombs I heard.

Seventh month.

Seventh day of the month.

Alledgedly an Al Queda linked group has claimed responsibility.

London has weathered this before, by far more organised and heavily armoured foes.
Sure, London has ground to a halt today, but I don't care how determined these fanatics are, the gloves are off now.

I live in the UK, and acknowledge that, to an extent, we brought this on ourselves, in fact I've been expecting it.
Our government has a long history of interfering in other countries development under the white flag of trade and colonialism. In doing so, many of those countries are the better for it.
Look at the organisation of Live8, and all the potential good being done for the third world, timed to precede the G8 summit, with the topic of eliminating thirld world debt.

This is only the start!

[Aegis]

I wonder how many legal, non-disruptive activities there are around the G8 meeting. I wonder if you want to punch those protestors in the mouth, too. I wonder when the citizens on the world lost the right to petition their leaders.

Ahh, the things we give up in the name of 'security'.
Plenty of legal non-disruptive protesters, but also hundreds of them were attacking the police yesterday. I assume they are the ones Don wanted to punch, and I would add a kick in the nuts for every single one of them too after this. I hope they're ashamed of themselves.

[Don Roley]

I wonder how many legal, non-disruptive activities there are around the G8 meeting. I wonder if you want to punch those protestors in the mouth, too. I wonder when the citizens on the world lost the right to petition their leaders.

Ahh, the things we give up in the name of 'security'.


Well, there are a vast number of people who peacefully and lawfully protested the summit. But there are a number who do things like try to shut down entire roadways with their tactics that take a lot of police resources to stop.

I am not against protest- peacefull, lawfull protest. But you have to admit that the blatently illeagle stuff probably helped this to happen.

[JenniM]

Maybe it's just someone's way of saying "stuff the congestion charge"!
This is no time for humour - your comments are in serious bad taste BAMMX2 in such a dark hour here in the UK - please show some respect for all those who have lost their lives, are injured and have lost loved ones in what everyone thought was just another normal day in the City - My thoughts and heartfelt sympathies go out to all those caught up in this mindless and cowardly act by those with no regard for human life.

[Don Roley]

Plenty of legal non-disruptive protesters, but also hundreds of them were attacking the police yesterday. I assume they are the ones Don wanted to punch, and I would add a kick in the nuts for every single one of them too after this. I hope they're ashamed of themselves.

My God, you don't think that they would continue to cause trouble and distract the police after this. I am not talking about the peacefull protestors. I am talking about the folks that do things like trash "symbols of capitalism" like the local McDonalds. For God's sake, they could not be stupid enough to keep doing that stuff when it is obvious that every police resource needs to be used to track these sons of she-dogs down ASAP.

[JenniM]

I truly hope that Bin Laden is found and tried. Preferably in America, where he can be put to death for his multitude of warcrimes.
Amen to that!!!

[OUMoose]

My apologies, as I double-posted this in the study apparently. :asian:


One part of me wants to punch every G-8 protestor in the mouth for making it so easy for them, and another part worries about the draconian steps that may be taken due to this new reality.

Very confused and hurt.

Not to let conspiracy theories run rampant here, but on one hand, you have a highly organized terrorist cell bent on doing some severe damage. On the other, a group of activists protesting the actions of the G8 leaders. I'm curious if it was just a violent protest, or if they were instigated AS a cover for more insidious activities. *shrug* just theorizing.

[Don Roley]

My apologies, as I double-posted this in the study apparently. :asian:



Not to let conspiracy theories run rampant here, but on one hand, you have a highly organized terrorist cell bent on doing some severe damage. On the other, a group of activists protesting the actions of the G8 leaders. I'm curious if it was just a violent protest, or if they were instigated AS a cover for more insidious activities. *shrug* just theorizing.

Naw, it was too easy for anyone to see that there was going to be trouble after all the other troubles over the years at things like this. There was no need for anyone to puch anyone else to run cover for them. Nothing different was done this time around in terms of protests that we have not seen before.

That is not to say that the non-peacefull protests did not help the terrorists. Just that there probably was no active planning to do so. Never attrribute to a consiracy what human stupidity can explain.

[kenpo0324]

My prayers and thoughts go out to all of the victims and Their family's.

[Floating Egg]

bombs on rush hour traffic on one of the busiest underground systems of the world - I think the target was loss of life don't you. Disruption will of course be massive but temporary.

As to their goal - what exactly do terrorist gain - the IRA have been active for over three decades, have they acheived their goals?

Jonah
I don't think it's quite so obvious. There are other better targets if their primary goal is massive loss of life. I'm of the mind that their number one priority is to make all of us feel impotent and powerless.

These people gain a great deal from their actions. Part of their success relates to their idelogy, but beyond that, they've succeeded in making a show of force against a much larger and more powerful nation. There's also of course an element of self-satisfaction that goes long with successfully affecting what is perceived as an enemy.

[TonyM.]

This just sickens me. I'll pray for the victims and for swift and terrible justice for the perps.

[jonah2]

....II'm of the mind that their number one priority is to make all of us feel impotent and powerless.....self-satisfaction that goes long with successfully affecting what is perceived as an enemy.
They obviously underestimate the power of the english resolve. This is by no means the first campaign of terror on our shores, by numerous groups and I am sure it will not be the last. We reamin here and stand up ready for the next.

jonah

[Floating Egg]

They obviously underestimate the power of the english resolve. This is by no means the first campaign of terror on our shores, by numerous groups and I am sure it will not be the last. We reamin here and stand up ready for the next.

jonah
Ah, but it doesn't just affect you. People from other nations will be watching.

[michaeledward]

But you have to admit that the blatently illeagle stuff probably helped this to happen.
No.

I do not have to admit any such thing.

I am glad that you are so insightful into the ways of a criminal mind. I certainly don't know why people blow up buses and trains.

But, I can understand an act of 'civil disobedience'; such as lying down in the streets to stop traffic or a journalist going to jail rather than reveal a source promised confidentiality.

And for the record, any physical actions against law enforcement should not occur.

[kenpoworks]

We live in a "free society", so we can peacfully protest and make our opinions heard it is our right........these bastards who brought carnage to the streets of London, today, come from a oppressive sick regime and have no rights or place in a civilised society, I hope retribution for the "guilty" is swift.
I am afraid I do not admire any part of their planning in the slightest, an open city like London is a soft target for these groups, our freedom and openness is our greatest strength when battling against those who would steal it away from us.

[searcher]

I have not heard anything since this morning. Has any group claimed to be responsible. Sorry if it has already been answerwed, I am in a hurry.

[Floating Egg]

And yet, ironically, it's the freedoms that are usually the first to go when national security is at stake.

[Makalakumu]

This is long, but it is important to read. Mr. Podhoretz makes some important points about this struggle...but it is not the whole story...

WWIV (http://www.commentarymagazine.com/A11802017_1.pdf)

upnorthkyosa

[MA-Caver]

I wonder how much planning was involved. Was their goal massive loss of life or just disruption? If the death toll isn't high will it still be considered a success by the group?
Their goal was a little of both and yeah if bombs went off and people are "terrified" and there's wounded and dead... then yes it's a success. Anything to disrupt the normal "day to day" is a success for those animals. Also consider this... the ultra-anal tightening of security in this country (probably soon in England) is a disruption of our regular lives.
So what does this mean for the involvement of the Brits and the War Against Terror? More committed I'm guessing.

My heart and sorrows go to the families and the vicitms of the attacks. I pray they will find justice and that right soon. :asian:

I'll add this after cruising the web on related stories. Here in the U.S. our "terror-alert" goes up to Orange and specifically for transit... hmm, okay.

[Dan G]

Pointless waste of life!

London went through all this before in the 80's and early 90's. It achieved very little then, and the attacks today are equally futile.

The thing with terrorism is it only works if it inspires irrational fear and anger. Events today are tragic, but with all respect to those murdered, injured or bereaved, it simply doesn't inspire that much fear, and the natural anger will be kept in check.

We've seen it all before. "London Bombed" is not a shock headline, and the disruption is not much worse than when there is a tube or rail strike.

If today's attacks are the best that the planners of this atrocity can come up with they are wasting their time and other peoples lives.

My condolences to those unlucky enough to be affected by today's criminal stupidity.

Dan

[kenposikh]

Pointless waste of life!

London went through all this before in the 80's and early 90's. It achieved very little then, and the attacks today are equally futile.

The thing with terrorism is it only works if it inspires irrational fear and anger. Events today are tragic, but with all respect to those murdered, injured or bereaved, it simply doesn't inspire that much fear, and the natural anger will be kept in check.

We've seen it all before. "London Bombed" is not a shock headline, and the disruption is not much worse than when there is a tube or rail strike.

If today's attacks are the best that the planners of this atrocity can come up with they are wasting their time and other peoples lives.

My condolences to those unlucky enough to be affected by today's criminal stupidity.

Dan


totally agree Dan I have lost your number and was unable to call to see if you were ok.

There is a thread on our forum and it would be appreciated if you would post there to let people know how everyone is.

http://pub3.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=202059768&cpv=2

[Dan G]

Cheers Amrik.

Have posted, will PM.

See you at summer camp the weekend after next.

Dan

[michaeledward]

We live in a "free society", so we can peacfully protest and make our opinions heard it is our right........these bastards who brought carnage to the streets of London, today, come from a oppressive sick regime and have no rights or place in a civilised society, I hope retribution for the "guilty" is swift.
I am afraid I do not admire any part of their planning in the slightest, an open city like London is a soft target for these groups, our freedom and openness is our greatest strength when battling against those who would steal it away from us.
When Timothy McVie bombed the Oklahoma City Murrough building, I jumped to a conclusion about who might be invovled .... I thought it was Saddam Hussein.

Fool me twice shame on me.

Perhaps we should allow the powers that be (CIA, FBI, MI5 and local police) do some research about who might have been behind these attacks before jumping to conclusions. In the end, it may very well be 'The Secret al Qaeda in Europe'.

I wonder if Sweden may find itself labelled as an 'oppressive sick regime'.

[Sapper6]

do we have any reason to beleive it WASN'T Islamic extremists that did this? i wouldnt think so.


"Rejoice, Islamic nation. Rejoice, Arab world. The time has come for vengeance against the Zionist crusader government of Britain in response to the massacres Britain committed in Iraq and Afghanistan," said the statement, which was translated by The Associated Press in Cairo.
"The heroic mujahedeen carried out a blessed attack in London, and now Britain is burning with fear and terror, from north to south, east to west," the statement said.
"We warned the British government repeated. We have carried out our promise and carried out a military attack in Britain after great efforts by the heroic mujahedeen over a long period to ensure its success."
"We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all crusader governments that they will receive the same punishment if they do not withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan."
The Secret Organization of Al Qaeda in Europe


did i miss something? why should Sweden be offended?

[kenposikh]

do we have any reason to beleive it WASN'T Islamic extremists that did this? i wouldnt think so.



I can only say that here the police nor the government have speculated as to who it was who did this awful thing.

As an englishman I too must take that line and not assume till evidence has been sought and found and further facts have been gleaned.

We shouldn't jump to conclusions.

The event was horrible the destruction was (and I don't mean to offend) negligable. Our thoughts should be with the families affected and not who was to blame, idealistically positive thoughts are better than negative ones.

Peace and prayers to all those affected

[michaeledward]

do we have any reason to beleive it WASN'T Islamic extremists that did this? i wouldnt think so.
Again, I say .... Timothy McVeigh


did i miss something? why should Sweden be offended?
Nice quote ... do you know it wasn't posted by a 14 year old wise-crack from Denmark? I don't.

Could someone claim that they were responsible for the attacks, but really have nothing to do with it?

And if it is a 'Secret' organization .... it could be Sweden, it could be Germany, it could be Portugal.

I believe our President has stated we will make no distinction between the terrorsits and the states that harbor them. Such sentiments, while excellent in John Wayne movies, don't really hold up too well in the real world.

[Sapper6]

of course, it could be some else who did it. going off of recent history, i'm lead to believe anytime the Islamic Extreme takes credit for a mass attack/terrorist event, it was later surmised that was the case.

in the case of McVeigh, no one else took credit for the OKC attack, then later found out it was him to begin with.

i try not to theorize as much as most people do. :idunno:

[Tgace]

So Mike...would you want to place a wager on who dunnit?

[OUMoose]

So Mike...would you want to place a wager on who dunnit?
I have my money on those crazy Raelians... Lord knows what a lizard-person is capable of.




*blinks*


Sorry... Trying to lighten the mood on a dark day. :(

[michaeledward]

So Mike...would you want to place a wager on who dunnit?Tom, that is just sick!

[Tgace]

A large, co-ordinated, multi-target, bombing (Al Queda favorite) attack....short of an Al Queda statement, seems pretty safe to make an educated guess...

[Dan G]

Again, I say .... Timothy McVeigh


Nice quote ... do you know it wasn't posted by a 14 year old wise-crack from Denmark? I don't.

Could someone claim that they were responsible for the attacks, but really have nothing to do with it?

And if it is a 'Secret' organization .... it could be Sweden, it could be Germany, it could be Portugal.

I believe our President has stated we will make no distinction between the terrorsits and the states that harbor them. Such sentiments, while excellent in John Wayne movies, don't really hold up too well in the real world.I agree. Jumping to conclusions and looking too quickly for blame is a potential mistake. The methodology seems similar to the bombings in Madrid and elsewhere. Those have been attributed to groups claiming to represent Islam and having a characteristic methodology; this methodology and also the loose affiliation of some groups claiming to represent Islam can both be referred to, sometimes confusingly, as "Al Qaeda". To speculate further at this point is to go too far.

If creating and/or exploiting a sense of injustice within the Islamic community is an aim of those responsible for the bombings it makes sense to be extremely careful to act, and be perceived to act, in a just and unbiased manner.

So far those that planned the London bombs have achieved nothing, it would be good to keep it that way.

On a positive note I reckon the pubs will be busier for the next few weeks. One happier side-effect of the events today is that a lot of people have been contacting friends and family, and catching up for long overdue drinks with old friends is an inevitable result.

Cheers,

Dan

[spiderboy]

On a positive note I reckon the pubs will be busier for the next few weeks. One happier side-effect of the events today is that a lot of people have been contacting friends and family, and catching up for long overdue drinks with old friends is an inevitable result.

Cheers,

DanHi Dan,

It's good to hear that everyone up there seems to be ok. I'm looking forward to sharing a drink (ok, maybe two..) with you guys a week from now.

See you then,

Alex

[Dan G]

Hi Alex,

Definitely up for a beer or three the weekend after next.

Promises to be another awesome summer camp!

See you then,


Dan

[arnisador]

Like I told my kids on 11 Sept. 2001: You now live in a different world.

[Floating Egg]

Like I told my kids on 11 Sept. 2001: You now live in a different world.
What's different about it? It's the same bloody thing that's been going on for at least 1500 years.

[Tremble]

What's different about it? It's the same bloody thing that's been going on for at least 1500 years.
And the rest....:rolleyes:

[kenpoworks]

I have just come off a night shift.

""When Timothy McVie bombed the Oklahoma City Murrough building, I jumped to a conclusion about who might be invovled .... I thought it was Saddam Hussein.""

I don't think I named names just what I thought their backround was, it was a little knee jerk i suppose, but i lived in cental London during the 70s and witnessed the "green Park" bomb and was walking towards the "Hilton" bomb to meet my sister as it went off.
I don't like terrorists no matter what nationality,creed , colour or persuasion they might be.
As for the rest of your post, yeh let the cia, mi5 or whoever do there thing thats obvious and the crack about Sweden "woosh"!!, well it made sense to you

[Don Roley]

I agree. Jumping to conclusions and looking too quickly for blame is a potential mistake.

Well some people that oppose the Iraq war seem to have no qualms in saying who it was. For example, take this article (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/huffpost/20050707/cm_huffpost/003794_200507071521) by Tom Hayden. It is not just him, Bill Fink, Galloway, etc are all saying that this was done by Islamist extremists in response to the war in Iraq.

I do happen to believe that it was the work of Islamic terrorists because a group associated with Al-Queda took responsibility for it. But they did not just claim it was for Iraq. They also said it was because England had troops in Afghanistan as well.

So the guys that are so quick to jump on with their political agendas like Hayden are probably going to do a quick tap dance around the fact that unless we say that attacking the Taliban was a mistake and let them come back into power, we will not get these groups to stop with their attacks. Of course, I don't think that anything we do short of turning to their brand of Islam will stop them. But don't expect any mention of the Afghanistan angle to be mentioned by certain people in the near future.

[Bammx2]

I have my money on those crazy Raelians... Lord knows what a lizard-person is capable of.




*blinks*


Sorry... Trying to lighten the mood on a dark day. :(
aaawww.....tellin jokes........
you're in trouble.
:uhyeah:

[Simon Curran]

Well I am probably gonna get toasted for this, but I am still severely wound up about the fact that our security forces were so intent on protecting others that they forgot about tax paying UK citizens.

Both my Dad and my brother-in-law are police officers in the London area, when it went down my Dad was on a day off, but of course got called in, no problem there that's his job.
My brother-in-law, however, was in Scotland doing security duties instead of in our nation's capital where he is supposed to be.
Sorry for ranting, but like I say, I'm still very wound up about this.

[Flatlander]

Just found some new images:

[Tgace]

The Brits are tough...they will get through, as they have throughout history.

So what do you folks in the UK think will be the results? Whats the "feeling" over there right now. Does this have the potential to end with the same results as the Madrid bombing (ruler ousted/troops withdrawn)?

As some of the potential claimants are mentioning Afganistan, are folks thinking we should get out of there too? Is it getting the same billing as Iraq now?

[Simon Curran]

The Brits are tough...they will get through, as they have throughout history.

So what do you folks in the UK think will be the results? Whats the "feeling" over there right now. Does this have the potential to end with the same results as the Madrid bombing (ruler ousted/troops withdrawn)?

As some of the potential claimants are mentioning Afganistan, are folks thinking we should get out of there too? Is it getting the same billing as Iraq now?
Well even though I don't live in the UK anymore, I am still a UK citizen, and I, for one, hope that it doesn't turn out like it did with Madrid, neither does anyone I have spoken to, I'm for sending more troops just to send a message that we won't allow ourselves to be terrorized.

[Bammx2]

Last night,
they had to evac Birmingham town center due t o some sort of a tip off.
They had to move approxamately 20-30,000 people from bars and night clubs.
From where I'm standing.......nothing much has changed.
Security precausions have gone up.naturally,but in general....
Whoever set off those bombs...they are just wasting thier time.
Everyone here is still going to work and going out partying with no major changes,cept a slightly new topic to discuss.
Now the rescue units are just trying to recover bodies down in one of the tubes......thats it.
God Bless the ones who were affected and God help those are responsable.

[Simon Curran]

Last night,
they had to evac Birmingham town center due t o some sort of a tip off.
They had to move approxamately 20-30,000 people from bars and night clubs.

Yeah I read about that one on the net last night, after so many years dealing with the IRA, they are pretty much on the ball when they get tip offs...

[michaeledward]

So Mike...would you want to place a wager on who dunnit?
British Citizens - born and raised. I guess I was wrong when I guessed Sweden.

I believe someone referred to an 'oppresive, sick regime'.

[Tgace]

So? The argument was that it was an Al Qaeda operation, not that the bombings were by foreign nationals. Experts are saying it was an Al Qaeda cell. Those complex, cell phone timed bombs arent something that non-trained personel are likely to do.

http://ktla.trb.com/news/nationworld/world/ktla-fg-britbomb14jul14-lat,0,5331768.story?coll=ktla-news-1


LONDON -- Investigators have linked one of the suspected London suicide bombers to a group of alleged extremists arrested here last year in a foiled terrorist plot by a Pakistan-based Al Qaeda group, authorities said Wednesday.

Mohamed Sidique Khan, a 30-year-old primary school teacher, has emerged as a key figure among the four suspected bombers, European and U.S. investigators said. Although officials had said that Khan and the other three were unknown to security personnel before last week's attack, investigators now think Khan was an associate of some of those arrested in last year's plot.

That strengthens suspicions that the London attacks were carried out by an Al Qaeda branch that teamed Pakistani masterminds with Pakistani British operatives and had tried to strike Britain before, investigators said.

Authorities believe that Khan and the other suspects, who traveled extensively to countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, received training from Al Qaeda specialists. Khan may have helped recruit and prepare his fellow bombers, who, like him, were Pakistani Britons from the northern city of Leeds, investigators said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/14/opinion/edleiken.php

The London attacks showed that local European jihadist groups are coalescing into a united front prepared to follow Osama bin Laden's global strategy, aiming selective and ever more carefully planned attacks on America's European allies in Iraq.

We can distinguish two types of candidate Muslim terrorists. There are the "outsiders": alien dissidents, typically asylum-seekers or students, who gained refuge in liberal Europe from anti-Islamist crackdowns in the Middle East.

More recently, security services have widened their attention to encompass "insiders": European-born descendants of guest workers recruited to shore up Europe's post-war "economic miracle."

Like Theo van Gogh's assassin in the Netherlands, the London bombers were born in Europe. At least three of the bombers were British nationals of Pakistani descent, as were the two terrorist gangs broken up by British police in April and August of 2004.

A leaked British government document notes that "most young [British] extremists fall into one of two groups: well-educated undergraduates or with degrees and technical professional qualifications in engineering or IT; or underachievers with few or no qualifications, and often a criminal background."

Hmmm..sounds eeirely like the Lackawanna Six to me.

[Tgace]

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2005/07/13/afx2137878.html


LONDON (AFX) - British police have identified the man thought to be the mastermind of last week's bombings in London in which at least 52 people died, a report said.

The British-born man in his 30s, of Pakistani origin, arrived at a British port last month and left the country again the day before Thursday's attacks, The Times newspaper reported.

The suspected suicide bombers were also Britons of Pakistani origin.

According to The Times, security sources say they believe the mastermind was involved with previous terror operations and had links with followers of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda extremist group in the US.

It was believed he had visited the bombers in their home city of Leeds, and also identified targets on the London underground rail subway system, where three of the four bombs exploded, the paper said.

Security sources also said he was likely to have trained the recruits in how to trigger their rucksack-carried bombs, three of which went off almost simultaneously at the peak of Thursday morning's rush hour.

Police have reportedly switched their investigation towards seeking the mastermind of the attacks since learning that the four bombers killed themselves in the attacks.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said earlier that the aim was now 'to attack the people who are driving, organizing and manipulating' bombers.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-13T155032Z_01_SPI356954_RTRUKOC_0_SECURITY-BRITAIN-MASTERMIND.xml


LONDON (Reuters) - Suicide attacks on London showed a level of calculation and technical know-how that strongly suggests a mastermind and support network behind the four young British bombers, security experts said on Wednesday.

Police suspect four young men of Pakistani origin carried the bombs that exploded last Thursday aboard three underground trains and a bus, killing at least 52 people including themselves.

"I would be surprised if this was something that was generated in someone's flat outside of London in a small Pakistani community," said former CIA official Nick Pratt, a terrorism expert at the Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany.

"To be able to pull something like this off, to get a hold of the explosives, it strikes me as implausible that it would be just four singletons working by themselves."

Police have said the bombs were made with high explosives and a French official in touch with the investigation said these were of military origin. Investigators discovered more explosives in raids on Tuesday.
....
Clearly there will be people behind this group and involved in this and clearly we are seeking those people," a police spokesman said. "The assumption has got to be they weren't acting alone."

Pratt said the modus operandi of al Qaeda-type groups typically involved planning and logistics operatives in the background.

"The way I have seen these cells work, you have a logistics cell, you've got someone who deals with transportation, you've got a security cell ... The one thing that gets uncovered is the actual operator cell, the guys that pull the bombing off."

Hmm..doesnt sound like a Tim McVeigh situation to me.

[Flatlander]

‘London, Tel Aviv blasts connected’ (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3111121,00.html)

fter analyzing the explosive material used in the Mike’s Place attack, the Mossad concluded it was produced in China and later smuggled into Britain, the paper reports. The explosives were apparently stashed by terrorists connected to al-Qaeda who were able to evade raids by British security forces.
The Mossad was also able to determine the substance was developed and produced at the Chinese ZDF arms factory, located about 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) from Beijing, the paper reports.



Related Article on the new explosive, ZDF, China connection (http://www.ycsi.net/users/reversespins/zdf.html).

[michaeledward]

This news report has been in the foreign papers for a couple of days now. Some of the reports indicate that the United States is skeptical of the claim. But, in fairness, as some felt my calls for patience, and recognition of local bombers was prejudiced (and perhaps it was), I thought I would add this report here.

Seems al Qaeda is claiming responsibility. And more importantly, there are some threats of future action in Europe.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050901144209990015



Al-Qaida Threatens Attacks in Europe
London Suicide Attacker Appears on Tape With bin Laden Ally
CAIRO, Egypt (Sept. 1) - One of the four suicide attackers who bombed London's transit system on July 7 made a dramatic farewell in a videotape broadcast Thursday that also included a warning of more bloodshed from al-Qaida's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

Speaking English, Mohammad Sidique Khan, a Briton of Pakistani ancestry, said Westerners had failed to heed previous warnings, "therefore we will talk to you in a language that you understand. Our words are dead until we give them life with our blood."