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| Britain |
| More bombers may be waiting to attack UK |
| 2005-07-28 |
| London's police chief warned Britons on Thursday that more cells of would-be bombers could strike as police made nine arrests in their hunt for the men behind failed attacks on the capital's transport system last week. Commissioner Ian Blair said the capital had been lucky that bombs on three underground trains and a bus had not exploded fully on July 21. Three men still wanted for the attacks remained a danger and might not be the only threat, he said. "It does remain possible that those at large will strike again. It does also remain possible that there are other cells that are capable and intent on striking again," he told a police authority meeting. The failed attacks came exactly two weeks after another team of suicide bombers killed 52 people in the capital. Police say four British Muslims carried out those bombings, which they have linked to al Qaeda. The two waves of attacks have put London on high alert, with police maintaining a high profile around the city. "This is not the B-team, these weren't the amateurs," Blair said of the second group of attackers. "They made a mistake -- they only made one mistake and we're very very lucky." Police arrested nine men in Tooting on Thursday morning, bringing to 20 the number of people being held in connection with the failed July 21 attacks. Police said the nine did not include the three suspected bombers they are still hunting. They arrested one of the four prime suspects in a dramatic dawn raid on Wednesday. They hope the arrest of Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, will provide a breakthrough in the search for the three other suspects. Blair said his force was reviewing 15,000 closed circuit television tapes, had taken 1,800 witness statements and received 5,000 calls to its anti-terrorism hotline. Police swarmed across the city where residents have become used to the wail of sirens in recent weeks as members of the public report abandoned packages or people acting suspiciously. Officers, some brought in from outside London, patrolled the streets outside stations, an unusual sight for commuters. British Transport Police said some leave had been cancelled as the force stepped up its high-profile campaign. "We are on very high alert. It's part of a continuing effort to have high-visibility policing on stations," a spokesman said. Opinion polls show a majority of Britons fear Islamist militants could wage a sustained campaign against their country. Newspapers published front-page pictures of a ready-made nail bomb found in the boot of a car that had been rented by one of the July 7 attackers. They showed a bottle studded with nails to act as shrapnel. But a police spokeswoman denied a report there were 16 ready-made bombs in the car. Apart from the nail bomb, investigators found bits of explosives and other components. Omar, who came to Britain from Somalia as a child refugee, was wanted in connection with an attempted attack at the Warren Street underground station on July 21. Armed police used a stun gun when they arrested him in a raid on a house in the central English city of Birmingham. Police were under pressure to exercise caution after they shot dead Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes in London on Friday because they mistook him for a suicide bomber. Newspapers quoted unidentified security sources as saying police thought Omar might have had a bomb in a rucksack in the house but were under orders to capture him alive. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 JFM: That would just Rile up those who are on the edge bewteen terrorism and jew-hating. Better too say that the target is the Saudi Palaces, that would have more of an effect I think. |
| Posted by: Charles 2005-07-28 19:39 |
| #2 Then we should have the Arab newspapers titling "more UK bombers (of the B52 variety) are waiting to attack Mecca" |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-07-28 15:10 |
| #1 Don't worry lads, we'll sic the big wings on 'em. |
| Posted by: Leigh Mallory 2005-07-28 15:08 |