Fri, Jul 08, 2005 page1

• Dozens die in London bombs

  CARNAGE In what officials were describing as an obvious terror attack, four explosions on London underground trains and a bus left scores dead and hundreds wounded

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  Four blasts ripped through London during rush hour yesterday morning, killing at least 33 people, injuring hundreds of others and disrupting the G8 summit in Scotland in attacks British Prime Minister Tony Blair branded "barbaric."

  "We are treating this as a terrorist incident," said Brian Paddick, the assistant deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, told a press conference.

  Witnesses saw the top ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square close to King's Cross train terminal, and three more apparently coordinated explosions caused carnage on packed subway trains as Londoners made their way to work. Police said the bomb that blew the roof off the bus may have been destined for the underground network.

  

  A wrecked double-decker London bus, with its roof blown off and debris strewn across the road after a blast in Russell Square in central London yesterday. Near simultaneous explosions also rocked at least three London subway stations during the morning rush hour yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

  "The fourth bomb may have been intended for an underground train," Paddick said.

  The bus blast occurred about an hour after the first underground explosion.

  "I was on the bus," said one dazed passenger. "I looked round and the seats behind me were gone."

  

  An injured tube passenger is escorted away from Edgware Road Tube Station in London following an explosion yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

  "You could see bodies on the road outside," said another eyewitness, Peter Gordon. "There was smoke everywhere. It was carnage."

  Paddick said seven people were killed on an underground train near Moorgate station, 21 were confirmed dead near Liverpool Street subway station and five died at Edgware Road.

  An unknown number of people were also killed in the bus.

  "We are clearly shocked but we are not surprised by what has happened," he told reporters, adding that police had received no warning prior to the attacks.

  US President George W. Bush, speaking at the G8 summit, told reporters that "the war on terror goes on."

  "We will not yield to these terrorists, we will find them, we will bring them to justice," he said.

  A previously unknown group, "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe," claimed responsibility, but Paddick said it was too early to say whether suicide bombers were involved.

  Financial markets tumbled as the scale of the attacks became clear and Blair returned to London from the G8 meeting to oversee the emergency. He planned to return to the Gleneagles talks later in the day.

  The attacks recalled last year's train bombings in Madrid blamed on al-Qaeda, and left Londoners in shock. The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home to avoid any violence aimed at them.

  They came just a day after a jubilant London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

  The carnage began at around 9am with the first blast and ended an hour and three more explosions later. London's police chief Ian Blair said there were indications of explosives at the sites. Other officials added that there was no sign of chemical or biological weapons being used.

  People were seen streaming out of underground stations covered with blood and soot. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.

  Security experts said the blasts bore all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda.

  "We would put al-Qaeda at the top of the list of any suspects," said Alex Standish, editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest. "Here you have a massive headline event which involves the three world leaders that al Qaeda detests -- Bush, Blair and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

  The blasts plunged London into transport chaos with underground trains stranded in tunnels and buses pulled from central city streets for bomb checks.

  In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that no Taiwanese had been reported injured in the blasts.

  The Presidential Office issued a statement "sternly condemned the terrorist acts" and expressed "condolence for those who unfortunately injured or killed in the event."
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