Four London Blasts Kill 40, Injure 350
1 hour ago
The wrecked double decker bus near Tavistock Square after ...
LONDON - Four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II. Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed and London hospitals reported more than 350 wounded in the terror attacks.
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the attacks "barbaric" and said they were clearly designed to coincide with the G-8 summit opening in Gleneagles, Scotland. They also came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics. A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" claimed responsibility.
The explosions hit three subway stations and a double-decker bus in rapid succession beginning at 8:51 a.m. (3:51 a.m. EDT) and ended about 40 minutes later when a blast ripped the top off a bus. Implementing an emergency plan, authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.
"It was chaos," said Gary Lewis, 32, who was evacuated from a subway train at King's Cross station. "The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood."
As the city's transportation system ground to a near-halt, buses were used as ambulances and an emergency medical station was set up at a hotel. Rescue workers, police and ordinary citizens streamed into the streets to help. At the scene of several blasts, specialist emergency workers in orange biochemical suits searched for evidence of biological, chemical or nuclear agents.
Blair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, said: "We shall prevail and they shall not."
Earlier, a shaken Blair said, "Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world."
He departed by helicopter back to London, but said the meeting of the world leaders would continue. The G-8 summit's agenda got sidetracked, however, and they decided to delay declarations on climate change and the global economy.
Bush warned Americans to be "extra vigilant" as they head to work after the deadly explosions in London. He said he had conferred with federal homeland security officials back in Washington.
Much of Europe also went on alert. Italy's airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also were among those announcing beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.
The U.N. Security Council was to meet later Thursday to address the London attacks and was expected to pass a resolution condemning the blasts, an official said.
A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, according to Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Der Spiegel magazine in Berlin, which published the text on their Web sites.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been no arrests, and it was unclear whether suicide bombers were involved.
Asked about the claim of responsibility, Paddick said: "We will be looking at that ... at the moment we don't know if that's a legitimate claim or not." He added that British officials had received no prior warning nor did they have any advance intelligence that the attacks would occur.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the coordinated explosions had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.
"This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour," said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King's College in London.
European stocks dropped sharply after the blasts, with exchanges in London, Paris and Germany all down about 2 percent. Insurance and travel-related stocks were hit hard, and the British pound also fell. Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, rose.
The explosions also unnerved traders on Wall Street, sending stocks down sharply in morning trading.
Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. In London, Paddick said at least 33 people killed in the subway system alone. He confirmed other deaths on the bus but gave no figures.
The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity and said they learned of the number from their British counterparts.
Officials at seven major hospitals surveyed by The Associated Press reported 358 people wounded. Among them, at least 45 were in serious or critical condition, including amputations, fractures and burns, said Russell Smith of London Ambulance Service.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were "mass murder" carried out by terrorists bent on "indiscriminate ... slaughter."
"This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners," said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had "full confidence" in London.
Jay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the bus blast at Russell Square in central London, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. He said the bus's top deck collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor.
Many appeared badly injured, and bloodied people ran from the scene.
"A big blast, a big bomb," he told The Associated Press. "People were running this way panicked. They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass."
"I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air," Belinda Seabrook told Press Association, the British news agency.
Traces of explosives were found at two explosion sites, a senior police official said. Police confirmed fatalities but had not confirmed any numbers by early afternoon.
Pope Benedict XVI deplored the "terrorist attacks," calling them "barbaric acts against humanity," and said he was praying for the victim's families.
Explosions were reported at the Aldgate station near the Liverpool Street railway terminal, Edgware Road and King's Cross in north London, Old Street in the financial district and Russell Square, near the British Museum.
"I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets," office worker Kibir Chibber, 24, said at the Aldgate subway station.
Simon Corvett, 26, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described "this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered."
"You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted," he said. "There were some people in real trouble."
On March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people.
The wrecked double decker bus near Tavistock Square after ...
LONDON - Four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II. Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed and London hospitals reported more than 350 wounded in the terror attacks.
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the attacks "barbaric" and said they were clearly designed to coincide with the G-8 summit opening in Gleneagles, Scotland. They also came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics. A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" claimed responsibility.
The explosions hit three subway stations and a double-decker bus in rapid succession beginning at 8:51 a.m. (3:51 a.m. EDT) and ended about 40 minutes later when a blast ripped the top off a bus. Implementing an emergency plan, authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.
"It was chaos," said Gary Lewis, 32, who was evacuated from a subway train at King's Cross station. "The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood."
As the city's transportation system ground to a near-halt, buses were used as ambulances and an emergency medical station was set up at a hotel. Rescue workers, police and ordinary citizens streamed into the streets to help. At the scene of several blasts, specialist emergency workers in orange biochemical suits searched for evidence of biological, chemical or nuclear agents.
Blair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, said: "We shall prevail and they shall not."
Earlier, a shaken Blair said, "Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world."
He departed by helicopter back to London, but said the meeting of the world leaders would continue. The G-8 summit's agenda got sidetracked, however, and they decided to delay declarations on climate change and the global economy.
Bush warned Americans to be "extra vigilant" as they head to work after the deadly explosions in London. He said he had conferred with federal homeland security officials back in Washington.
Much of Europe also went on alert. Italy's airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also were among those announcing beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.
The U.N. Security Council was to meet later Thursday to address the London attacks and was expected to pass a resolution condemning the blasts, an official said.
A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, according to Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Der Spiegel magazine in Berlin, which published the text on their Web sites.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been no arrests, and it was unclear whether suicide bombers were involved.
Asked about the claim of responsibility, Paddick said: "We will be looking at that ... at the moment we don't know if that's a legitimate claim or not." He added that British officials had received no prior warning nor did they have any advance intelligence that the attacks would occur.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the coordinated explosions had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.
"This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour," said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King's College in London.
European stocks dropped sharply after the blasts, with exchanges in London, Paris and Germany all down about 2 percent. Insurance and travel-related stocks were hit hard, and the British pound also fell. Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, rose.
The explosions also unnerved traders on Wall Street, sending stocks down sharply in morning trading.
Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. In London, Paddick said at least 33 people killed in the subway system alone. He confirmed other deaths on the bus but gave no figures.
The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity and said they learned of the number from their British counterparts.
Officials at seven major hospitals surveyed by The Associated Press reported 358 people wounded. Among them, at least 45 were in serious or critical condition, including amputations, fractures and burns, said Russell Smith of London Ambulance Service.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were "mass murder" carried out by terrorists bent on "indiscriminate ... slaughter."
"This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners," said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had "full confidence" in London.
Jay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the bus blast at Russell Square in central London, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. He said the bus's top deck collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor.
Many appeared badly injured, and bloodied people ran from the scene.
"A big blast, a big bomb," he told The Associated Press. "People were running this way panicked. They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass."
"I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air," Belinda Seabrook told Press Association, the British news agency.
Traces of explosives were found at two explosion sites, a senior police official said. Police confirmed fatalities but had not confirmed any numbers by early afternoon.
Pope Benedict XVI deplored the "terrorist attacks," calling them "barbaric acts against humanity," and said he was praying for the victim's families.
Explosions were reported at the Aldgate station near the Liverpool Street railway terminal, Edgware Road and King's Cross in north London, Old Street in the financial district and Russell Square, near the British Museum.
"I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets," office worker Kibir Chibber, 24, said at the Aldgate subway station.
Simon Corvett, 26, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described "this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered."
"You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted," he said. "There were some people in real trouble."
On March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people.