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| Britain |
| Terror plot known weeks ago |
| 2005-07-11 |
| AL-QAEDA threatened to launch attacks in Europe in an internet warning posted five weeks before the London terrorist bombings that British intelligence services claimed to have no knowledge about. But the Spanish secret service only forwarded the May 29 message to Britain's MI5 spy agency at the weekend -- two days after the attacks. The Spanish national intelligence centre, called CNI, sent a copy of the Arabic-language message - signed by "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades - European division" - on Saturday to MI5, according to Spain's El Mundo newspaper. The same group - named after an al-Qaedaleader who was killed in Afghanistan - claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings of March 11 last year, in which 191 people died, and twin bombings in Istanbul in November 2003 that killed 63 people. The message, entitled "Letter to mujahedeen in Europe", states in part: "We now call on the mujahedeen around the world to launch the expected attack". Spanish intelligence officials believe this was a reference to the attacks in London last Thursday, which claimed at least 49 lives and wounded more than 700. The revelation came as it emerged the severed head of a man had been found near the bus torn apart at Tavestock Place in the London bombings, strengthening suspicions that a suicide bomber was behind the blast. Suicide attacks in Israel have shown that a head is often the only remnant of a suicide bomber, as an explosion close to the torso can force the head to fly up and remain intact while the rest of the body disintegrates. London's Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that the head found near the bus had almost certainly been blown out of the upper deck where a rucksack-sized bomb is believed to have been planted on a seat. The head may be that of an innocent passenger who picked the bomb up just before it exploded, but police have believed from the start that the bus could have been hit by a suicide bomber. One passenger who got off the bus just before the explosion had noticed a nervous young man behaving oddly on the bus and frequently dipping into a bag at his feet. Investigators are convinced that three other terrorists escaped after leaving bombs on three Underground trains about 47 minutes before the bus blast. British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday rejected Opposition calls for an inquiry into whether the bombings could have been prevented, saying it would disrupt the hunt for perpetrators. Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said the "last thing" the security services needed was an inquiry, as they were too busy with a massive investigation into the bombings. "Security services and the police have actually protected us for many years. They have disrupted a lot of operations. It is impossible to anticipate everything," she said. A spokesman for Mr Blair, who was due to present an update on the bombings in a statement to parliament overnight, said: "The Prime Minister has confidence in the intelligence services and he won't be holding an inquiry." Britain's terrorism threat status was yesterday raised to its highest level yet as police believe the rush-hour bombers are alive and planning another attack. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 Boy did I jump to the wrong conclusion. When that threat was posted - I mistranslated Europe as syrup and stocked up with 3.5 cases of Aunt Jemima. Now what am I gonna do? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2005-07-11 14:35 |
| #3 How about if we pass a law that all acts of terrorism mut be registered (and a permit issued) at least 48 hours before the slaughter begins? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-07-11 14:07 |
| #2 That's about the most misleading story title imaginable, if the details in the story are what news.com.au had to go on. If they have something more substantive to back up the title, fine, say so. They didn't, much less tell us what it was. A "terror attack in Europe" and "launch the expected attack" is about as useful as saying there are grandstanding assholes in the MSM. Wotta bunch of asstards. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-11 13:30 |
| #1 This is half the problem with terrorism, people who want to blame the British gov. for the bombing and not the terrorist shitwads who did the killing. You can't really do a google search on terrorist threats every morning when you get to work. Who ever said that any terror attack can be avoided or derailed? If they do it right, it probably cant be stopped. I don't thing the liberals would let them do half the things they need to do to stop most of the plots. If they don't get mean and nasty with those bastards they arent going to stop any of them. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-07-11 13:19 |