Terror Attacks on London England - 07 Jul 05 & 21 Jul 05

[Blackhorse7]

SAS must be itching for info.... good hunting.  That's all I have to say about that.

 

[1feral1]

SASR, Cdo, and the NSWPS TRG   :gunner: :akimbo: :flame: :mg: :sniper: :rocket: :fifty: :soldier:

Sorry about the 'smilies', just venting out some frustration.

Just another infidel (and loving it),

Wes

 

[bossi]

Very well. then please inform us how we should discribe them in the future.
HAND.

Personally, I view the bombers as criminals who have murdered indiscriminately - there can be no honour in killing innocent civilians, and thus they are a disgrace to whatever cause they purport to serve.   I'd be tempted to agree with PM Blair's use of the term "barbarians", except that it would be an insult to the original Barbarians (footnote at bottom).

Moving on ... it's gratifying to see how Britain is swinging into retaliation mode - amongst other things, an aggressive Info Ops campaign ... (Churchill said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" - thus, to defeat a terrorist it's necessary to not be terrified ... and, the best defence is a good offence ... especially when every man, woman and child gets onboard ...)

1.   "We're coming to get you."
2.   "The World is united against you."  
3.   "Did we mention that every pair of eyes in Britain, and our allies, are now looking for you ... ?"
4.   "Oh, by the way ... we're coming to get you."

1.  

No.10 [Downing Street] Operation FIGHBACK - A £2 BILLION counter-terror operation swung into action within minutes of the first explosion. ...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005310418,00.html

2.  

GLENEAGLES: The world's most powerful leaders united on Thursday to condemn the wave of bombings in London, saying they would not bow to terrorists ... British Prime Minister Tony Blair, summit host, insisted talks would continue despite what he described as `barbaric attacks'. ...

http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/08/stories/2005070806071600.htm

3.  

Britons urged to help find attackers
LONDONâ ”Police have called on Britons to be their "eyes and ears" in a hunt for bombers who killed more than 50 people, some of whom remain buried in the wreckage of an unstable and vermin-infested subway tunnel. ...

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1120859414904&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

4.  

Extra troops for Afghan border  
(photo caption:   Pakistan already has 70,000 soldiers along the Afghan border)
Pakistan says it is deploying an additional 4,000 soldiers on its border with Afghanistan to prevent militants from moving across the frontier. ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4660441.stm


Barbarian footnote (I'm half Barbarian by ancestry, thus ... sort of a "Cliff Claven" commentary ...)

... Those who they came in contact with considered them uncivilized, and yet were fascinated by their strength, stamina, force of will, charisma, and versatility.   They were respected by those they befriended, and feared by those who opposed them.   Even within their own society, they fought amongst themselves, seeking supremacy of power and controllership of the lands they acquired.  

In Northern Europe they became known as the Teutons, Norse, Goths, and Celts, and within those tribes arose many sub-tribes.   Settling deep in the regions of Northern Europe, they were forgotten by the various civilizations to the South and East such as Greece, Assyria, Persia, and Egypt.   It was not until the end of the Bronze age and the onset of the Iron Age that the cultures would re-emerge, clashing with those civilizations fronting the Mediterranean Sea; Greece, and Rome.  

Reviled by the Greeks, and both respected and feared by the Romans, these people would time and again engage in battles against those civilizations.   Those of Teutony proved to be indomitable, and even the ones conquered by Rome did not remain under Roman rule for long.   Their fierce, warlike nature and coarse behaviors earned them the name "barbarians", meaning both "illiterates" and "wanderers".   ...

And, the latest headline (reminding us not to underestimate our enemy ...):

... The deadliest of Thursday's blasts, which took place far below King's Cross station on the Picadilly Line, has so far claimed 21 known dead, but that number is certain to climb because many bodies remain trapped in the wreckage there. ...

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1120947011737&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home

Blasts occurred within seconds, police now say
Oakland Ross, staff reporter

LONDONâ ”Police and transit authorities have dramatically revised the chronology of the three blasts that hit trains on the London Underground on Thursday.

Initially, those explosions were thought to have occurred over a 26-minute span, from 8:51 until 9:17 in the morning.

Based on a closer examination of emergency reports and other data, officials now say the underground bombs went off within seconds of each other, at about 8:50 a.m.

"It was bang, bang, bang, very close together," Tim O'Toole, managing director of the London Underground, said yesterday.

The first explosion hit a train near Aldgate station, followed almost immediately by two more bombs, one at Edgware Rd. and a third at King's Cross.

A fourth explosion, which ripped the roof off a double-decker bus at Tavistock Square, killing 13, came nearly an hour later.

The death toll in the four bombings stands at 49, but is certain to rise.

The revised chronology of the blasts is important because it tends to bolster the likelihood that the bombs were detonated by electronic timing devices rather than being the work of suicide bombers.

"It might seem to move the probability toward a timing device," said Brian Paddick, Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner. "But we cannot rule out the possibility that people set these bombs off manually.

Last night, police evacuated large areas of downtown Birmingham, in what they described as "a precautionary measure" in response to an undisclosed security threat.

An estimated 20,000 people were ordered to leave the Broad St. entertainment district of Britain's second largest city, and motorists were prevented from entering the area.

The city's Chinatown area was also evacuated, involving about 10,000 people.

The alert, however, was not likely connected to the subway and bus bombings in London two days earlier, said Stuart Hyde, assistant chief constable of West Midlands Police.

"I want to make that pretty clear," he told a news conference.

The evacuation followed intelligence warning of a "substantial threat," Hyde said.

A controlled explosion â ” designed to disarm any explosive device â ” was carried out on a bus following a call from a member of the public, but officers concluded there was no explosive device.

London police also revealed yesterday that "high explosives" were used in the four blasts on Thursday, rather than "home-made" bombs, but they would not provide more specific information.

In all, about 700 people were wounded in the blasts, 65 of whom remain in hospital, 12 in critical condition. Approximately 25 other people are thought to be missing.

"You can have all the surveillance in the world, and you couldn't stop that happening," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a radio interview yesterday. He praised the "inner resilience" of Londoners for their calm response to last week's attacks.

The deadliest of Thursday's blasts, which took place far below King's Cross station on the Picadilly Line, has so far claimed 21 known dead, but that number is certain to climb because many bodies remain trapped in the wreckage there.

Ian Blair, commissioner of the London police, said yesterday he does not believe the final death toll in the four blasts will rise above 100.

Civic authorities in London announced yesterday that two minutes of silence will be observed at noon local time this Thursday, in honour of the victims of last week's bombings.

Yesterday, a second Islamic group sought to take responsibility for the deadly attacks on central London, but it was not clear whether the claim could be taken seriously.

Calling itself the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade, the organization claimed on its website that it caused the London bombings, but the group is known to have made bogus claims in the past. It previously sought to take credit for the power blackouts that hit parts of the United States and Canada two years ago.

On its website, the group threatens further terrorist actions against "infidel London."

Earlier, a group calling itself the Secret Organization of Al Qaeda Jihad in Europe claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Police investigators also revealed yesterday that they have so far been unable to identify any of the 49 bodies so far recovered from the wreckage left by the four explosions.

"It is a very harrowing task," Detective Superintendent Jim Dickie said, referring to the recovery of the corpses. "Most of the victims have suffered intensive trauma, and by that I mean there are body parts as well as torsos."

Police and rescue workers continued to work in appalling conditions roughly 30 metres below King's Cross station, trying to remove more bodies from the wreckage.

"This is going to be a very long process," said Trotter of the British Transit Police. "The conditions are extremely difficult."

He said there was no natural ventilation in the cramped and rat-infested tunnel, one of the deepest in the London Underground system. "It's a slow, methodical, meticulous process," said Trotter.

While recovery teams laboured underground yesterday, crowds of Londoners gathered under partly cloudy skies at the King's Cross station, where they filed past a makeshift shrine set up outside the station. Hundreds of floral offerings and handwritten tributes have been placed outside the station in honour of the bomb victims.

"In loving memory of you all," said one. "They will not beat us."

With files from Associated Press

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1121000449370_17?hub=topstories

Three arrested in London under anti-terror law


CTV.ca News Staff
 
Updated: Sun. Jul. 10 2005 3:11 PM ET

British police said they arrested three people Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport under the country's anti-terrorism act, but would not link the suspects to last week's terror attacks.

In a news conference held to outline new details of the investigation into the bombings, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said it would be "inappropriate and pure speculation to draw any direct linkages to the attack in London."

Although police were careful not to publicly speculate, some authorities warned that they feared more terrorist attacks.

"The fact is the terrorist threat is a real one as we saw so dramatically and awfully on Thursday," Secretary Charles Clarke, the Cabinet minister responsible for law and order, told BBC television.

"Our fear is of course of more attacks, until we succeed in tracking down the gang which committed the atrocities on Thursday and that's why the number one priority ... has to be the catching of the perpetrators," he added.

Investigators, who revised the timings of the subway blasts Saturday saying they blew up almost simultaneously, are looking at claims of responsibility by two al Qaeda-inspired groups.

Former Metropolitan Police chief John Stevens said he believed the bombers were "almost certainly" British.

"They are also willing to kill without mercy -- and to take a long time in their planning," Stevens wrote in an article in the News of the World newspaper Sunday.

British media said investigators asked their European counterparts, including Europol, to search for Mohamed al-Guerbouzi, a 44-year-old Moroccan who was given asylum in Britain. Europol
declined to comment on the reports.

However, al-Jazeera, an Arabic news organization, reported on its website that it interviewed al-Guerbouzi, who said British authorities knew his address in London.

Al-Guerbouzi was convicted in absentia by Morocco in December 2003 for a terrorist attack in Casablanca and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was never extradited.

According to unidentified investigators cited in The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, Mustafa Setmarian Nasar has also emerged as a suspect in the attacks.

He is a Syrian suspected of being al Qaeda's operations chief in Europe and the mastermind of last year's Madrid railway bombings.

The confirmed death toll from the London attacks is at 49, but police believe it will inevitably rise above 50 after search crews remove bodies that are still trapped in the subway system.

Forensic experts are relying on fingerprints, dental records and DNA analysis to identify the victims. None of the 49 dead have been formally identified yet.

Church leaders address attacks

As search crews continued their recovery efforts, Londoners congregated at memorial services to mourn the dead and missing victims.

In a service to mark the 60th anniversary of the Second World War, the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England, likened the horror of the war to Thursday's attacks.

"Today of all days, we need to reminder that the spirit of murder and humiliation is still abroad," he told worshippers in Westminster Abbey.

"There is a generation of people for whom the sight of a devastated, bombed London will bring back harsh memories."

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict prayed that God would change the hearts of the perpetrators.

"We pray for the people killed, for those injured and for their loved ones. But we even pray for the attackers: Lord, touch their hearts," Reuters quoted the pope as telling the crowds in St. Peter's Square.

"To those who foment feelings of hate and carry out such revolting terrorist acts, I say: God loves life, which he created, not death. And I say, stop, in the name of God."

 

[1feral1]

Talk about misguided, misinformed and BRAINWASHED or we can call it serious denial at best.

GO to www.islamicsydney.com and lurk around the forums. Try the youth forums too. Hunt down the London bombing threads. I have read a lot of shyte on this website in the post S11 world, but what is said about the London bombings is well, how can I say it, OBCENE to say the least.

Sadly these so called people (I hope ASIO is monitering that site - infact I am sure they are) hare living in my country, and it almost makes me want to spew my guts up in sheer disgust when I read such tripe, and frankly it scares me that these so called 'Australians' are in a state of such anti-west unrest. This would not bother me too much if this unrest was 'over there', but the fact is they are living in a western country, the same as me. Its not hard to figure out who's side there are on.

When there is an attack on us here, a thousand allahs won't save them, and they'll be hunted down and rounded up.

There is a right and a wrong, and the most of us have (even a 5 yr old)  the basic mentality to know whats right, but these people can't tell the difference (they are putting their religion before anything else - thats wrong), they stand in the way of our society in such a manner, that I find horrifiying.

Even in our time, not that long ago, treason was a sentance punnishable by a trip up the gallows. Will common sense prevail? We'll see, already The grand Mufti of Sydney and self appointed Muslim leader of Australia did indeed condem the attack, but then said it happened because of US aggression (go figure). What we need here is sound united leadership, and STRONG language from these ethnic 'leaders', not some extreme islamic puppet, spouting sewerage from his mouth to appease the radicals within.

Regards and shaking head in sheer disgust,

Wes

 

[McG]

Bottom Line:   It's time for Canada's Muslim population to step up and in one voice say "This is not acceptable!"....

Arab editor slams 'charities' raising jihad cash
The Edmonton Journal
10 July 2005

LONDON -- The editor of the world's leading Arab newspaper has attacked Muslims in Britain for turning a blind eye to terrorist fundraising on their own doorstep. Writing in the wake of Thursday's bombings, Tariq Al-Humayd, the editor-in-chief of London-based Al-Sharq Al Awsat (The Middle East), claimed collections were frequently held in the capital for militant causes posing as charities.
"In London, we have seen, and are seeing, the money being collected in the streets ... and everyone is inciting jihad in our Arab countries and cursing the land of unbelief in which they live," he wrote. " The terror struck London, indiscriminately. ... For the sake of freedom of all of us, stop the ones who are attacking our freedom."

 

[McG]

British police said they arrested three people Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport under the country's anti-terrorism act, but would not link the suspects to last week's terror attacks.

London police release arrested trio
Globe & Mail Online
Sunday, July 10, 2005 Updated at 7:54 PM EDT
Associated Press

London â ” Three men arrested at Heathrow airport Sunday under anti-terrorist laws were released without charge, British police said.

Officials did not say if the arrest of the men â ” all Britons â ” was related to the hunt for the bombers who killed at least 49 people on London's subway and a bus Thursday.

. . .

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050710.wbombings0709/BNStory/International/

 

[edadian]

Thanks for posting the Arab editor clip MCG. I wish the view of the majority of Arabs and Muslims was reported in the press. We only get the extremist view in the press usually.

I would also like to praise the Queen. She was travelling through London today in an open topped car and standing out on a platform surrounded by people. Not letting terrorists deviate her schedule. That is the type of courage the terrorists don't understand.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

That editor will be need inside of a month I'm said to say.

 

[KevinB]

The editor is one thing, and I credit several of the Muslin "elite" in London with their condemnation - and the fact that they circle London as a target due to the fact it is a PRIME example of a free and diverse society where all religions mingle in peace and harmony.


However there are still groups that are celebrating this attack in public - and we need to kill those people quickly.  Canadians NEED to demand that we (the CF) get out and quite literally shoot these MF's in the face.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

CANFORGEN 123/05 CDS 061/05 072051Z JUL 05
CANADIAN FORCES RESPONSE TO LONDON EXPLOSIONS
UNCLASSIFIED


REFERENCES: A. NDHQ DCDS INSTRUCTION 5/01 - CF CRISIS RESPONSE PROCESS
B. DCDS 043 072225Z MAR 03
C. DCDS 084 062220Z APR 04
D. DCDS DIRECTION FOR DOMESTIC OPERATIONS (DDDO) 01 APR 05



AS YOU ARE ALL AWARE, SEVERAL EXPLOSIONS WERE DETONATED IN LONDON IN THE UNITED KINGDOM EARLIER TODAY. IT IS REASONABLY CLEAR AT THIS TIME THAT THE EXPLOSIONS CONSTITUTED AN ACT OF TERRORISM, POSSIBLY TIMED TO COINCIDE WITH THE MEETING OF THE LEADERS OF THE GROUP OF EIGHT INDUSTRIAL NATIONS


RECENT INTELLIGENCE, ALTHOUGH NOT SPECIFIC, HAS INDICATED THAT AL QAEDA GROUPS COULD BE PLANNING TO CONDUCT ATTACKS AGAINST THOSE NATIONS PARTICIPATING IN OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. EARLY ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT TODAYS EXPLOSIONS IN LONDON BORE THE HALLMARKS OF AN AL QAEDA STYLE ATTACK


AT THE PRESENT TIME, NO SPECIFIC THREAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AGAINST CANADA. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ASSESSMENT, COMMANDERS AT ALL LEVELS ARE REMINDED OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO REMAIN VIGILANT AND ARE DIRECTED TO ENSURE THEIR COMPLIANCE WITH CANADIAN FORCES SECURITY ALERT LEVEL FOUR (SAL) AS OUTLINED AT REFERENCE A. CANALERTCON LEVEL FOUR (4), WITH THE APPLICABLE CRISIS RESPONSE MEASURES (CRMS), FORCE PROTECTION AND READINESS LEVELS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT, AS PREVIOUSLY DIRECTED AT REFERENCES B AND C


AS I HAVE COMMUNICATED TO MANY OF YOU PERSONALLY IN RECENT MONTHS, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CANADIAN FORCES TO PROTECT CANADIANS, DEFEND CANADA AND RESPOND TO ASSIST LEAD CIVIL AUTHORITIES IN TIMES OF CRISIS IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY. ALL CANADIAN FORCES PERSONNEL, UNITS AND HEADQUARTERS ARE TO REMAIN VIGILANT AND PREPARED TO RESPOND IF REQUIRED

 

[Dare]

A few tidbits and some updates.


http://csmonitor.com/2005/0711/p01s04-woeu.html

A defiant Islam rises among young Britons
Thursday's attacks turn attention to a group alienated from British society.
By James Brandon | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
LONDON â “ Thursday's coordinated terrorist attacks that killed at least 49 people have underscored competing forces within Britain's Muslim community: a minority that advocates violence against Western targets, and those who want to coexist peacefully with Britain's multifaith, multiethnic society.

Since the bombings, the media and Muslims have been at pains to explain that most of the country's 2 million Muslims are peaceful. "The Muslim community in Britain has a long history and is enormously diverse," says Anas al-Tikriti, a member of the Muslim Association of Britain.

But the attacks are turning attention to the increasing numbers of young British Muslims who are rejecting their parents' traditional culture in favor of a radical and expansionist Islam. This strikingly Western version of Islam combines an independence of thought with a contempt for established traditional scholarship and a theme of teenage rebellion.

"Getting involved in radical Islam is an emotional thing rather than a rational decision," says Abdul-Rahman al-Helbawi, a Muslim prayer leader. "And it's not a matter of intelligence or education - a lot of these radicals in Britain are very well-educated."

In Dalston market in north-east London on Thursday, "Abdullah," a Muslim watch-mender and evangelist, was in a pugnacious mood.

"We don't need to fight. We are taking over!" he said. "We are here to bring civilization to the West. England does not belong to the English people, it belongs to God."

Two days later in a prosperous West London cafe, Mr. Helbawi pondered the attacks. "It's not a surprise but I am still shocked," he said. "How can they do this? London is a city for all the world. This is not Islam."

Hours after the bombings, Helbawi logged onto an Internet chat room run by British Muslim extremists. "They were all congratulating each other on the attacks," he said. "It was crazy. They were talking about how they had won a great victory over the infidels, as if they had just come back from a battle."

Although so far, there is no evidence that British Muslims were involved in the bombs, there is little doubt that many British Muslims feel that Britain "deserved" the attacks for supporting the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Because Muslims explain the conflicts in Iraq, Kashmir, and Israel through Islam, every Muslim feels involved," said Helbawi. "People watch television and see Palestinian women being hit and pushed around by Israeli soldiers, and get angry and feel that they have to do something."

But beyond anger, a sense of alienation often drives radical Islam. Many second- and third-generation immigrants find themselves cut off not only from their parents' cultures but also from a British one that includes alcohol and looser sexual mores.

"If you don't drink, it really cuts you off from English society," says Ummul Choudhury, a London-based Middle East analyst for the Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies. "The view of the older generation is also that you do not integrate. If you do, you are told you are betraying your culture and religion."

The resulting isolation makes it easier for young Muslims to develop a contempt for British society.

"There is also a lot of racism toward white British people," says Ms. Choudhury. "It's not really something that people want to talk about, but there are definitely some things that Muslims say between themselves that they would never say in front of white people."

For frustrated and isolated young Muslims, radical Islam is not difficult to find. Girls in particular are often prevented from going out at night and can be easily drawn into online Muslim communities where they come into contact with other disillusioned Muslims from across Europe.

One leading analyst of the Islamic diaspora even compares the lure of extremist Islam to 1950s teens listening to Elvis in an attempt to shock their parents. "The son of a Pentecostal preacher in Brixton was recruited by the radical Muslims," says Nadhim Shehadi, acting head of the Middle East program at Chatham House.

"This young man initially tried to upset his parents by becoming a rapper," says Shehadi. "But when his parents stopped objecting, he became a jihadi instead."

The antiestablishment nature of this new Islam and its apparent status as an alternative to capitalism and secularism is also winning converts among native Britons.

"People come to Islam from all walks of life. It's not just middle-class people but also electricians, judges, and taxi drivers," says Sara Joseph, the editor of "Emel," a lifestyle magazine for Muslim women, who converted to Islam at age 17. "The main catalyst for conversion is often going out with a Muslim, although the primary factor is usually a search for spirituality."

While the estimated 1,000 British Christians, atheists, and members of other faiths who convert to Islam every year are often attracted by Islam's clearly defined teachings, this minor trend is overshadowed by Muslims' highbirth and immigration rates, which tomany Muslims promises increased political and social influence in the future.

Indeed, taking advantage of Britain's rapidly expanding and increasingly Muslim population are new parties that aim to promote ethnic and religious agendas. One is Respect, a left-wing party founded by former Labour MP George Galloway, that aims to unite Muslims and socialists around opposition to American foreign policy and globalization.

Linked to the desire for increased political power are attempts by some radical Muslims to begin a process of Islamicizing British cities.

Last month, Muslim groups in Glasgow petitioned the City Council to ban an Italian restaurant from serving alcohol to diners seated at outside tables. Hospitals in Leicester considered banning Bibles from hospital wards to avoid offending Muslim patients. In Birmingham, a group called Muslims Against Advertising began a campaign of painting over billboards that they deemed offensive to Islam - targeting ads for Levi's jeans, perfume, and lingerie.

But these small campaigns are polarizing public opinion along ethnic and religious lines - and creating support for Britain's far-right groups, who present themselves as defenders of Britain's hard-won freedoms.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1072-1684970,00.html

And this is why they did it
Amir Taheri
There is no way to reason with the terrorists, but the thinking behind their actions is perfectly clear
THE FIRST QUESTION that comes to mind is: what took them so long? The answer may be that in the past four years the British authorities have succeeded in preventing attacks on a number of occasions. David Blunkett, who was then Home Secretary, was often mocked for suggesting that this was the case.

It may take some time before the full identity of the attackers is established. But the ideology that motivates them, the networks that sustain them and the groups that finance them are all too well known.

*
Click here to find out more!
Moments after yesterday's attacks my telephone was buzzing with requests for interviews with one recurring question: but what do they want? That reminded me of Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film-maker, who was shot by an Islamist assassin on his way to work in Amsterdam last November. According to witnesses, Van Gogh begged for mercy and tried to reason with his assailant. â Å“Surely we can discuss this,â ? he kept saying as the shots kept coming. â Å“Let us talk it over.â ?

Van Gogh, who had angered Islamists with his documentary about the mistreatment of women in Islam, was reacting like BBC reporters did yesterday, assuming that the man who was killing him may have some reasonable demands which could be discussed in a calm, democratic atmosphere.

But sorry, old chaps, you are dealing with an enemy that does not want anything specific, and cannot be talked back into reason through anger management or round-table discussions. Or, rather, this enemy does want something specific: to take full control of your lives, dictate every single move you make round the clock and, if you dare resist, he will feel it his divine duty to kill you.

The ideological soil in which alQaeda, and the many groups using its brand name, grow was described by one of its original masterminds, the Pakistani Abul-Ala al-Maudoodi more than 40 years ago. It goes something like this: when God created mankind He made all their bodily needs and movements subject to inescapable biological rules but decided to leave their spiritual, social and political needs and movements largely subject to their will. Soon, however, it became clear that Man cannot run his affairs the way God wants. So God started sending prophets to warn man and try to goad him on to the right path. A total of 128,000 prophets were sent, including Moses and Jesus. They all failed. Finally, God sent Muhammad as the last of His prophets and the bearer of His ultimate message, Islam. With the advent of Islam all previous religions were â Å“abrogatedâ ? (mansukh), and their followers regarded as â Å“infidelâ ? (kuffar). The aim of all good Muslims, therefore, is to convert humanity to Islam, which regulates Man's spiritual, economic, political and social moves to the last detail.

But what if non-Muslims refuse to take the right path? Here answers diverge. Some believe that the answer is dialogue and argument until followers of the â Å“abrogated faithsâ ? recognise their error and agree to be saved by converting to Islam. This is the view of most of the imams preaching in the mosques in the West. But others, including Osama bin Laden, a disciple of al-Maudoodi, believe that the Western-dominated world is too mired in corruption to hear any argument, and must be shocked into conversion through spectacular ghazavat (raids) of the kind we saw in New York and Washington in 2001, in Madrid last year, and now in London.

That yesterday's attack was intended as a ghazava was confirmed in a statement by the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe, an Islamist group that claimed responsibility for yesterday's atrocity. It said â Å“We have fulfilled our promise and carried out our blessed military raid (ghazava) in Britain after our mujahideen exerted strenuous efforts over a long period of time to ensure the success of the raid.â ? Those who carry out these missions are the ghazis, the highest of all Islamic distinctions just below that of the shahid or martyr. A ghazi who also becomes a shahid will be doubly meritorious.

There are many Muslims who believe that the idea that all other faiths have been â Å“abrogatedâ ? and that the whole of mankind should be united under the banner of Islam must be dropped as a dangerous anachronism. But to the Islamist those Muslims who think like that are themselves regarded as lapsed, and deserving of death.

It is, of course, possible, as many in the West love to do, to ignore the strategic goal of the Islamists altogether and focus only on their tactical goals. These goals are well known and include driving the â Å“Cross-worshippersâ ? (Christian powers) out of the Muslim world, wiping Israel off the map of the Middle East, and replacing the governments of all Muslim countries with truly Islamic regimes like the one created by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and by the Taleban in Afghanistan.

How to achieve those objectives has been the subject of much debate in Islamist circles throughout the world, including in London, since 9/11. Bin Laden has consistently argued in favour of further ghazavat inside the West. He firmly believes that the West is too cowardly to fight back and, if terrorised in a big way, will do â Å“what it must doâ ?. That view was strengthened last year when al-Qaeda changed the Spanish Government with its deadly attack in Madrid. At the time bin Laden used his â Å“Madrid victoryâ ? to call on other European countries to distance themselves from the United States or face similar â Å“punishmentâ ?.

Bin Laden's view has been challenged by his supposed No 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who insists that the Islamists should first win the war inside several vulnerable Muslim countries, notably Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Until yesterday it seemed that al-Zawahiri was winning the argument, especially by heating things up in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yesterday, the bin Laden doctrine struck back in London.

The author is an Iranian commentator on Middle Eastern affairs.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3111121,00.html

'London, Tel Aviv blasts connected'

German newspaper: Explosive material used by British terrorist who blew himself up on Tel Aviv beachfront in 2003 very likely the same as that used by terrorists who staged London attacks last week, Mossad tells Brits
By Roee Nahmias and Ronen Bodoni

TEL AVIV â “ The terror attack in London last week may be tied to a suicide bombing on Tel Aviv's beachfront in April 2003, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Monday.

According to the paper, Mossad officials informed British security authorities that the explosive material used in the Tel Aviv attack on Mike's Place pub was apparently also utilized to stage the series of bombings in London on Thursday.

â Å“They reached us too late for us to do something about it,â ? a Mossad source is quoted as saying.

'Very powerful explosive'

According to the German report, the Mossad relayed an analysis of the explosives used in the Mike's Place attack to British security officials. Mossad sources are quoted as saying there is â Å“high likelihoodâ ? the explosives used in Tel Aviv were the same ones used in London.

However, the story makes it unclear whether the Mossad is involved in any way in the investigation into the London bombings.

After 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.

According to the newspaper, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan said the explosive in question is very powerful, and â Å“much more lethal than plastic explosives and can be smuggled undetected due to its composition.

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.

3 people murdered at Mike's Place

The Mike's Place attack claimed the lives of three people, Yanai Weiss, 46, Ran Baron, 24, and Caroline Dominique Hess, 29. The bombing was carried out by two terrorists, Asif Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, who were recruited by Hamas in Britain.

The two managed to enter Israel using their British passports.

Hanif blew himself up at the pub, but Sharif failed to detonate his explosive belt and fled the scene. A few weeks later, his body was washed ashore in Tel Aviv.

The terrorists' relatives were detained in Britain in the wake of the attack on suspicion they knew of the plot and did nothing to prevent the attacks. The relatives' trial ended in July of last year, with the court ordering a retrial for Sharif's sister and brother.

Meanwhile, Sharif's wife was cleared of the charges against her.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15898641-2,00.html

POLICE have raided five locations in West Yorkshire, north-east England in connection with last week's bombings in London, the Metropolitan Police said today.
The raids are thought to be the first to be carried out in connection with last Thursday's coordinated bomb attacks in London.

They came as two more victims were identified by their families.

In statements released by police, the families of Jamie Gordon and Philip Stuart Russell said the two men were confirmed among the dead.

Police said today they were on the verge of identifying one person they believed was involved in the bombings.

Investigators have also found fingerprints on bomb materials from the blasts whch killed at least 52 people, according to separate reports.

Vital clue

A European official involved in the probe said progress had been made towards naming the person responsible for Thursday's bus blast, the UK Financial Times newspaper reported.

The bus explosion was one of four co-ordinated bombings in which at least 52 people were killed.
Advertisement:

The unnamed official told the paper: "I think we are going to see photographs of one or more suspects being posted within days."

Investigators have also found fingerprints on bomb materials from the attacks, US TV network NBC reported today.

It said at least four operatives were believed to have been involved.

The network cited a former senior US official in its report.

NBC said British intelligence had told US counterparts that investigators had picked up fingerprints from bomb materials, but they were unsure if they belonged to the bombers.

Law enforcement officials said investigators suspected the bombers congregated at King's Cross station, then set out to plant the devices, NBC reported.

Separately, The Times newspaper reported forensic pathologists were investigating two bodies found inside the bus to see whether one of them might have been the bomber.

"There are two bodies which have to be examined in great detail because they appear to have been holding the bomb or sitting on top of it," a "senior police source" said.

"One of those might turn out to be the bomber."

Online warning

Earlier, it was revealed 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-Qaeda leader 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 London attacks.

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.

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.

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.

IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

    * THE two first confirmed victims of the attacks have been formally named as Susan Levy, a 53-year-old mother of two from Hertfordshire, north of London, and Gladys Wundowa, 51, who worked for University College London as a cleaner. Levy is believed to have died in the deadliest blast, on a train travelling between King's Cross and Russell Square, while Wundowa was killed on the bus.

    * 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.

    * 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.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I just heard on the news that they suspect that the 4 bombers are dead and they arrested another.

 

[dutchie]

I just heard on the news that they suspect that the 4 bombers are dead and they arrested another.

From the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4676577.stm

London bombers 'were all British' 
 
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 dawn raids.

The BBC's Frank Gardner said it was unlikely the men - who police believe were all British - acted alone.

  "It appears our youth have been involved in last week's horrific bombings - nothing in Islam can ever justify the evil actions of the bombers" - Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Muslim Council of Britain

Police said they had arrested a relative of one of the four suspects in Yorkshire and taken them to London for questioning.

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.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain said they had received the latest news from the police with "anguish, shock and horror".

Breakthrough

He said: "It appears our youth have been involved in last week's horrific bombings against innocent people.

"While the police investigation continues we reiterate our absolute commitment and resolve to helping the police bring to justice all involved in this crime of mass murder. Nothing in Islam can ever justify the evil actions of the bombers."

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.

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.

Head of the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch Peter Clarke 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 Clarke.

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 Clarke 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."

Eleven victims of the blasts have now been formally identified.

One inquest has been opened and adjourned, that of Susan Levy, 53, from Hertfordshire.

Eight more will be opened on Wednesday, including those of Jamie Gordon, 30, and Phillip Russell, 29, who were named on Tuesday.

A further two inquests will open on Thursday.

Police are asking for anyone with information on the bombs to contact their anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

The one family of one of the alleged bombers was in Britain for over 20 years.

 

[Spr.Earl]

What I'm worried about is the announcement of "NEW LAWS" that Tony Blair is looking for!!!
The U.K. handled the IRA threat very well, but why the need new laws?
Smoke and Mirrors?
Loss of Liberty?

Before you all start I lived in the the U.K. in the 70's ,school kids,adverts on the telly advisning every one to look,for we all knew!!

This is over blown in imoi.

 

[Dare]

What I'm worried about is the announcement of "NEW LAWS" that Tony Blair is looking for!!!
The U.K. handled the IRA threat very well, but why the need new laws?
Smoke and Mirrors?
Loss of Liberty?

Before you all start I lived in the the U.K. in the 70's ,school kids,adverts on the telly advisning every one to look,for we all knew!!

This is over blown in imoi.

You mean, something like this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4673301.stm

Religious hate law clears Commons
Government attempts to clamp down on expressions of religious hatred have cleared the Commons, but are set for a rocky ride in the House of Lords.

MPs gave the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill a third reading by 301 votes to 229, a majority of 72.

Shadow minister Dominic Grieve said the bill would not improve race relations.

But Minister Paul Goggins said: "I believe we need to take on the hate mongers, whether they are terrorists or whether they are extremists."

'Catastrophically flawed'

The bill would create a new offence of incitement to religious hatred and would apply to comments made in public or in the media, as well as through written material.

The plans, which have failed to make it through Parliament twice before, cover words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up religious hatred. Jews and Sikhs are already covered by race-hate laws.

It is a bill that's ill-conceived in its thinking, it will be dangerous in its execution and I'm confident we have not seen the last of it
Alistair Carmichael
Liberal Democrats

They will now undergo scrutiny in the House of Lords.

Home Office Minister Mr Goggins described the bill as small, tightly focused with "not much room for manoeuvre", although he accepted it was "not the whole answer".

"But there is a gap and we seek to close that gap through this legislation," he said.

But shadow attorney general Mr Grieve warned that the legislation remained "catastrophically flawed".

Satanists protected?

It would not improve race relations and would prevent the lawful expression of differences of view, he said.

"If the government really wants to tackle this issue, it is going to have to get away from the promises made to various people of some equal playing field, accept that religion and race are different, start to look at the real nature of the problem and try to come up with some constructive solutions."

He also argued that a failure to define religion in the bill meant sects, including Satanists, Scientologists and believers in female genital mutilation would be protected.

He said the measures could struggle to get through the House of Lords.

But Mr Goggins said it would be the job of the courts to define a religion.

"We've left it to the courts, that's right that we do that because over time a religion may change," he said.

'Ill-conceived'

Liberal Democrat spokesman Alistair Carmichael said he was "embarrassed" that elected representatives were sending a bill to the Lords "that is so bad at this stage" when so much time had been spent on it.

"It is a bill that's ill-conceived in its thinking, it will be dangerous in its execution and I'm confident we have not seen the last of it," he said.

But Labour ex-Cabinet minister Frank Dobson said it was incumbent on MPs to protect their constituents from those who incited fear and hatred.

An attempt by the Lib Dems, backed by the Tories, that would have outlawed religious hatred as a pretext for stirring up hatred against a racial group was defeated by 291 votes to 233, a government majority of 58.

Labour MP Ann Cryer, who backed the amendment, said she was concerned that restrictions contained in the bill would stifle debate.

Jokes

"I am simply not convinced that legislation which encourages further segregation, however well-intentioned, will provide the protection it aims to deliver," she said.

Last month a coalition of Tory and Lib Dem MPs failed to block the bill's second reading by 303 votes to 246, giving a government majority of 57.

Critics, including comic actor Rowan Atkinson, have argued that the measures will limit freedom of expression and stop them from telling religious jokes.

But Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the bill was not about stopping people from telling jokes about religion and would not curb artistic freedom.

He said it was "about behaviour that destroys individuals' lives and sets one community against each other".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4673301.stm

Published: 2005/07/11 21:41:49 GMT

© BBC MMV

 

[McG]

Tape links London attack to British suicide bombers
Matthew Fisher
CanWest News Service; with files from The Associated Press
July 13, 2005

LONDON - Britons were in a state of disbelief Tuesday after police revealed that four deadly terrorist attacks in London six days ago were carried out by suicide bombers with British citizenship.

A senior Scotland Yard officer said he saw a surveillance video of the suspects as they arrived together with knapsacks strapped to their backs at London's King's Cross Station Thursday morning before separating to carry out their missions.

Less than an hour later, explosions ripped through three packed trains on the London Underground and on the top floor of a double-decker bus. At least 52 people died and about 700 were injured.

"You would think they were all going on a hiking holiday when, in effect, they were Britain's first suicide bombers," Channel Four Television quoted the officer as saying late Tuesday.

On Tuesday, British authorities used special anti-terrorism search warrants to raid at least six houses in the northern English city of Leeds and nearby West Yorkshire communities. With the help of British army combat engineers, police carried out several controlled explosions, including one at a home that may have been used as a bomb-making factory.

Personal documents, including home addresses of three of the four bombers, had been discovered at the bomb sites and there was other forensic evidence pointing to their involvement, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said at a news conference. But remains of only one of the bombers -- the one on the bus -- had been positively identified.

"We are trying to establish their whereabouts in the runup to the attacks," Clarke said.

Jeremy Shapiro, director of research at the centre on the U.S. and Europe at the Brookings Institution, said Europeans had been involved in suicide attacks in the Mideast, but he knew of no suicide bombings in western Europe previously.

...  Full Article

London police searching for blasts' mastermind: reports
By TERRY WEBER
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 Updated at 2:11 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update.

British police are looking for a fifth suspect connected to last week's terrorist strikes on London's busy transit system and believe that person may have either made the bombs or co-ordinated the devastating attacks, according to reports Wednesday.

Both Sky News and the BBC reported that a fifth person is now being sought in connection with the strikes, which left at least 52 people dead.

Sky said detectives believe the suspect either made the bombs or masterminded what are believed to be Britain's first suicide strikes.

The news service said investigators feel it is unlikely that four men â “ identified earlier this week as the likely bombers â “ were acting alone. It said the fifth suspect could be hiding in London.

...

The British news service Press Association, citing police sources, said police had identified the fourth suspect, but no name was reported.

Police have not formally identified any of the suspects in the attack.

...    Full Article

 

[1feral1]

This just in from Sky in London www.sky.com, that sadly the first Australian has died of wounds from the London attacks. He was on the bus No.30. The death toll is now 54.

The Australian, identified today as Sam Lee, was from Melbourne, in Australia's southern state of Victoria.

I really don't know what else to say, with the exception, lets hunt down the mastermind, who according to Sky has weasled himself out of England, or has disappeared into the abyss of his own ethnic community, hiding like a wounded dingo.

I guess we'll just see where one's loyalty lies, won't we.  :rage:

Regards,

Wes

 

[Island Ryhno]

May have found the bastard.

Chemist Denies Any Role in London Attacks By BRIAN MURPHY and SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press Writers
12 minutes ago



LEEDS, England - Authorities arrested an Egyptian chemist who studied in the United States, and they investigated a possible al-Qaida connection in Pakistan as the search widened for those behind London's suicide bombings, officials said Friday.

Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, 33, who was arrested in Cairo, denied any role in the attacks, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement. He was taken into custody after the July 7 transit bombings and was being questioned, it said.

No charges have been filed against him. London police said a man has been arrested in Cairo, but they would not confirm his name or characterize him as a suspect in the attacks that killed at least 54 people, including four bombers.

Also Friday, police in Leeds raided a shop selling Islamic books and DVDs just blocks from where at least two of the four suicide bombers lived, and they seized materials.

Muslim leaders have said the young bombers might have been inspired by radical literature. It was not immediately clear whether any of the four bombers had links to the shop, but neighbors speculated that the owner or manager may have met the suspects there.

An earlier search of a flat in Leeds rented by el-Nashar found evidence of explosives similar to those used in the failed 2001 shoe-bombing plot involving Richard Reid, according to The Times of London.

U.S., British and Egyptian officials had been in contact concerning el-Nashar following the blasts, according to an Egyptian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was providing information not in the ministry's statement.

El-Nashar was vacationing in Egypt and had intended to go back to Britain to continue his studies, the ministry said, without specifying the date he was taken into custody.

"El-Nashar denied having any relation with the latest events in London. He pointed out that all his belongings remained in his apartment in Britain," it said.

British and    FBI officials had been looking for el-Nashar, who recently taught chemistry at Leeds University, north of London.

Leeds University said el-Nashar arrived in October 2000 to do biochemical research sponsored by the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt. It said he earned a doctorate May 6.

FBI agents in Raleigh, N.C., had joined the search for el-Nashar. North Carolina State University spokesman Keith Nichols said a person named el-Nashar studied there as a graduate student in chemical engineering in early 2000.

Detectives who searched el-Nashar's flat found signs that quantities of a compound called TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, had been converted into a powerful explosive, the Times of London reported.

In 2001, Reid used an improvised shoe bomb rigged with TATP, which is difficult for bomb-sniffing dogs to detect, when he tried to board an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami and blow it up over the Atlantic. Reid was subdued by passengers when he tried to detonate the explosive. He pleaded guilty to U.S. charges and is serving a life sentence.

TATP is a highly unstable explosive made from commercially available chemicals.

A spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the report or say what type of explosive was used in the attacks.

Andy Oppenheimer, an explosives expert with Jane's Information Group, said TATP is strong enough to have caused the damage wreaked by last week's bombs.

But he added that making such a highly volatile explosive stable enough to carry out closely synchronized attacks would have required advanced knowledge of chemistry. Police say the three subway blasts happened within a minute.

The New York Times and the British Broadcasting Corp. also reported that TATP was found in a search of a Leeds home.

Earlier, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said investigators were hunting the organizers of the London transit attacks â ” perpetrated by what he called "foot soldiers" â ” and confirmed police were focusing on a Pakistan connection.

Three of the bombers who carried out last week's terror strikes were Britons of Pakistani descent. Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday that local authorities are looking into a connection between one of the three and two al-Qaida-linked militant groups in that country.

Blair told the BBC that police believed they would discover an al-Qaida connection to the blasts.

"What we expect to find at some stage is that there is a clear al-Qaida link, a clear al-Qaida approach, because the four men who are dead, who we believe are the bombers, are in the category of foot soldiers," Blair said.

Authorities in Pakistan, meanwhile, were looking into a connection between one of the London suicide bombers and two al-Qaida-linked militant groups in Pakistan, including a man arrested for a 2002 attack on a church near the U.S. Embassy, two senior intelligence officials said.

The investigation is focusing on at least one trip that 22-year-old Shahzad Tanweer made to Pakistan in the past year, said the officials, who work at two separate intelligence agencies and are involved in the investigation. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of their jobs.

One of the officials said that while in Pakistan, Tanweer is believed to have visited a radical religious school run by the banned Sunni Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.

The sprawling school in Muridke, 20 miles north of Lahore, has a reputation for hostility. Journalists who have traveled to the school in the past have been threatened and prevented from entering.

Lashkar-e-Tayyaba was banned by Pakistan for alleged links to a 2001 attack on India's Parliament.

ABC News, citing unidentified officials, reported that the attacks were connected to an al-Qaida plot planned two years ago in Lahore. Names on a computer that authorities seized last year from Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, an alleged Pakistani computer expert for al-Qaida, matched a suspected cell of young Britons of Pakistani origin, most of whom lived near Luton, where the alleged suicide bombers met on their way to London shortly before last week's blasts, according to the report.

Authorities have now discovered ties between Mohammed Sidique Khan â ” one of the July 7 bombers â ” and members of that cell who were arrested last year, ABC said.

In another international development in the inquiry, Jamaica's government said it was investigating a Jamaican-born Briton as one of the bombers. Reports identified him as Lindsey Germaine.

On Thursday, police released closed-circuit TV video showing one of the four suicide bombers â ” 18-year-old Hasib Hussain â ” wearing a backpack as he passed through the Luton train station on his way to London.

Hussain allegedly set off the bomb that killed 14 people aboard the bus. That blast occurred nearly an hour after three London Underground trains blew up, and investigators don't yet know what Hussain did during that hour or when he boarded the bus.

Trying to map out Hussain's movements, police appealed for information from anyone who may have seen him in or around King's Cross station, where the four parted ways.

Police officially identified two of the suicide bombers Thursday â ” Hussain and Tanweer, whom they say attacked a subway train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate stations.

News reports have identified the fourth bomber as 30-year-old Mohammed Sidique Khan.