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Police lift the lid on bomb gang
After a day of intensive police activity, detectives say at least one of four suspected London bombers died in last week's Tube and bus blasts. Security sources said it was likely three men whose belongings were found at the scenes are dead - there is a question mark about the fourth bomber. Explosives were found in Leeds and Luton after a series of raids. Police say they have CCTV images of the four arriving at King's Cross station on the day of the bombings. They also said they had arrested a relative of one of the four suspects in Yorkshire. Four bombs - three on the London Underground and one on a bus in Tavistock Square in the city centre - killed at least 52 people on Thursday. The breakthrough in the anti-terror investigation came after a day of raids in West Yorkshire and the seizure of a car at Luton rail station. The raids, which began at 0630BST, centred on two properties in Dewsbury and four in Leeds. WEST YORKSHIRE RAIDS They were carried out after the discovery on Monday night of CCTV images showing the four men at King's Cross station just before 0830BST on the day of the attacks. The images showed the men, who had boarded a Thameslink train at Luton, carrying rucksacks. Explosives were later found in the car at Luton, where experts carried out five controlled explosions as a cordon was erected around the station. Police removed the explosives from the vehicle and were expected to destroy them later on Tuesday night. A second car believed to be linked to the attacks was found at Leighton Buzzard, 10 miles (16km) west of Luton. Bedfordshire Police were examining it after receiving a tip-off from the Metropolitan Police. They refused to say exactly where the car was found. Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the searches, carried out under the Terrorism Act, were intelligence-led and "directly connected" to last week's attacks. There is no identity for the fourth bomber and police do not know if his remains are at the King's Cross blast site or if he has fled. One man was arrested in Yorkshire and taken to London for questioning following the police operations on Tuesday. Head of the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch Peter Clark said documents identifying three of the men were found near three blast sites. Three of the four men were from the West Yorkshire area, said Mr Clark. His colleague, assistant commissioner Andy Hayman, said: "I want to conclude by making it absolutely clear that no-one should be in any doubt the work last Thursday is that of extremists and criminals. "No-one should smear or stigmatise any community with these acts." Following developments on Tuesday he described the investigation as "complex and intensive" and "moving at great speed". Police said there was forensic evidence that one of the bombers died in the Aldgate explosion. Property belonging to one of the suspects from West Yorkshire, who was reported missing by his family just after 10am on Thursday, was found on the devastated bus. Police have established that man was joined on his journey to London by three other men. The second man's property was found at the scene of the Aldgate blast and the third man's belongings at both the Aldgate and Edgware Road blasts. Mr Clark said: "We are trying to establish their movements in the run up to last week's attacks and specifically to establish if they all died in the explosions." Police are asking for anyone with information on the bombs to contact their anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321 . Posted by: Steve 2005-07-12 |
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