LONDON, 8 July 2005 — “We do not know whether this is over yet,” was the chilling message from Scotland Yard as London came to a standstill yesterday after a series of bomb explosions in the London Underground and on at least one double-decker bus which thus far has claimed 37 innocent lives and seriously maimed another 45 commuters.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy later quoted the British government as saying 50 people had been killed. In all some 700 people were wounded
The multi-agency emergency services, comprising the police, the transport police, the ambulance services, the fire brigade, and London Underground, are on full alert security sweeping the capital’s transport infrastructure and key sites to make sure that Londoners can commute to work today in relative safety.
Britain’s crack anti-terrorist unit working closely with the intelligence services MI5, MI6 and officers from the Specialized Crime Directive, have launched an investigation into the attacks. But it will be days before any pattern or clues emerge regarding the type of explosives used and the method of detonation.
“We will be searching and checking people as they come in and out of the transport system. We are not telling people to stay away from work tomorrow. There will be commuter problems, but life must carry on. If we all remain vigilant, then we can get to work in relative safety,” assured Brian Paddick, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
As London reeled from the shock of the four bomb blasts, the main arterial roads in and out of the capital, especially the M4 and M1 motorways, were gridlocked with cars bumper to bumper. The chaos spread to Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport, when at one stage in the afternoon the busy international Terminal 3 was evacuated following a suspect package which turned out to be harmless.
A grim-looking Prime Minister Tony Blair, broke his chairmanship of the G-8 meeting at Gleneagles in Scotland, and flew to Downing Street, where he addressed the nation with a defiant message to the terrorists. “This is a callous attack on innocent members of the public. It is important that those engaged in terror understand that our determination to protect our values and way of life is greater than their desire to kill and maim innocent people in various parts of the world. We will not be intimated. We will not be divided. We will not be terrorized. And our resolve will hold,” he declared.
While some pundits — the usual crowd of “Middle East experts” — jumped to the conclusion that the attacks had all the hallmark of an Al-Qaeda operation, both government and emergency officials refused to point the finger of blame to any particular group.
Scotland Yard could not confirm whether the bomb blasts at the underground stations at King’s Cross; the one between Liverpool Street and Moorgate; and at Edgware Road; and the attack on the bus at Woburn Place and Tavistock Square, were the result of suicide bombers, or bombs disguised as packages, or whether they were remotely detonated. They assured Londoners that the bombs were “conventional devices” which did not contain any chemical or biological agents.
A website statement claiming to be that of Al-Qaeda Europe claimed responsibility for the attacks. But the authorities dismissed the reliability of such claims.
British Muslims have expressed their outrage at the attacks and are standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow Britons. Arab News can confirm that shortly after the attacks, Scotland Yard phoned several Muslim organizations, especially educational establishments, to advise them to close for the day and for staff and students to return home. Officials fear a backlash from Far Right extremist groups such as the British National Party (BNP) who would not shirk from exploiting the situation to stoke up hatred and attacks against Muslim targets.
What started as a normal working day for millions of Londoners turned out to be a day of death, destruction and despair. Wednesday’s euphoria over London’s dramatic victory over Paris to stage the Olympics in 2012 quickly dissipated as the scale of the onslaught on the capital became clear. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell promptly cancelled a reception for the successful bid team which is due back on Friday morning.
The attacks started at 8.51 a.m. when an “incident” took place on a train in a tunnel between Liverpool Street and Moorgate but close to Aldgate in the heart of the City of London, the financial nerve center. At first the rumor was that the incident was caused by a power surge. But it soon became clear that it was a bomb blast that killed at least seven people.
Five minutes later, a second bomb went off on a tube train on the Piccadilly Line which claimed the lives of 21 people. The Piccadilly Line is the deepest in the London Underground system. As such evacuation was much more difficult, especially with debris and shrapnel flying all around; and the smoke and stench making breathing difficult.
A third bomb went off at 9.17 a.m. at Edgware Road station, a stone’s throw from Marble Arch, which at this time of the year is full of tourists from the Gulf. At least seven people died in that attack.
A fourth bomb went off minutes later on a double-decker bus ironically directly opposite the headquarters of the British Medical Association (BMA) between Woburn Place and Tavistock Square. The mangled wreckage of the bus, which had its top completely blown off, suggested a large number of casualties, but the police could only confirm two fatalities.
After the Madrid bombings last year, British security officials stressed that it was only a matter of time before London would be attacked. The irony remains that after the UK general elections in May, the level of security alert was lowered. This is remarkable in the light of Blair’s claim that “these attacks were designed to coincide with the opening of the G8 summit.”
