3 London Underground Stations Evacuated

[nickel]

they are definitely saying more bombs have went off, but it looks like no casualties


5 minutes ago

LONDON - Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday Thursday following reports of incidents, British Transport Police said. The Fire Brigade was investigating a report of smoke at one station.

The Warren Street, Shepherds Bush and Oval stations were evacuated. Emergency services personnel were called to the stations, police said.

"People were panicking. But very fortunately the train was only 15 seconds from the station," witness Ivan McCracken told Sky news.

McCracken said he smelled smoke, and people were panicking and coming into his carriage.

Services on the Victoria and Northern lines were suspended following reports of a number of incidents, London Underground said.

The reports came two weeks after four suicide bombers attacked three subway stations and a double-decker bus, killing 52 others.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050721/ap_on_re_eu/britain_underground

[Gothic Girl]

I'm watching the local news right now and Matt and Katie from the Today Show are saying that the police are not treating this as a serious incident.

[Butch]

they are definitely saying more bombs have went off, but it looks like no casualties


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050721/ap_on_re_eu/britain_underground

Not to sound pessimistic, but the report didn't say there were no casualties . . . just that there have been no reports of casualties. The media usually only quotes casualty figures when they are reported by officials . . . and officials don't quote casualty figures until they've had an opportunity to confirm them in some way . . .

[Merlin]

Red Alert Special Report: Four Blasts Confirmed in London

Security officials in London have confirmed four blasts (or attempted
blasts) July 21 -- three in the Underground and one on a bus. The incidents come two weeks to the day after the July 7 London bombings that left 56 dead and more than 700 injured. They also come at a time when the London mass transit system is still at heightened security levels following the July 7 attacks.

At 12:38 p.m. local time, London's ambulance service responded to a call at The Oval station, located in southeast London in a fairly run-down area near a cricket ground. Witnesses report that a person with a backpack approached a train, threw the backpack on and fled as other passengers attempted to give chase. The backpack then gave off small explosions and noises that "sounded like champagne corks popping."

At 12:45 p.m. local time, emergency services responded to a call from Warren Street Station in Central London, close to businesses and upscale neighborhoods. Before the station was evacuated, passengers reported seeing smoke coming from one of the trains, and some reported seeing a backpack explode. The British Transport Police reported one injury at Warren Street but did not specify its nature; reports also indicate that police detonated suspicious items at the station as a precautionary measure. Some reports indicate a nail bomb exploded on the train.

The third incident happened at the Shepherd's Bush Station, in a west London commercial district. This incident was reportedly above ground.
There were no reports of injuries at this incident.

The fourth incident was an explosion onboard a No. 26 route bus on Hackney Street near Bethnal Green station, just southwest of Victoria Park in north-central London. A bus driver reported no injuries; witnesses say windows were blown out of the bus after an explosion occurred on the upper floor of the double-decker.

The incidents bear a clear resemblance to the July 7 attacks -- they occurred on a Thursday, there were three attacks on the Underground and one on a bus, and the attacks were spread out yet nearly simultaneous. However, the differences are more striking.

The attacks on July 21 occurred at mid-day, not rush hour, minimizing the potential casualties. The bombs used were also apparently significantly smaller, perhaps fireworks and smoke bombs or pipe bombs. Thus far, only one injury has been reported.

The coordination and resemblance to July 7 does not appear to be accidental; neither do the smaller size of the bombs and the off-peak time of the explosions. This attack was aimed at a more psychological end -- to shatter confidence in the mass transit system and authorities' ability to provide security.

This does not appear to be an attack by either the Irish Republican Army or al Qaeda, given the size of the bombs, though it could have been a move by local al Qaeda sympathizers. London hosts a large pool of Islamist radicals who would be interested in riding on the fears created by the July 7 attacks. Though al Qaeda sticks to well-trained operants to carry out attacks, these independent radicals are ready and willing to become jihadists. This in turn works in favor of al Qaeda, which has continually striven to inspire its sympathizers to act on their own with motivation derived from "the base" -- the literal Arabic translation of "al Qaeda." In fact, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has proclaimed that the United States and the West would not enjoy security or peace of mind as long as those in the Muslim world do not. Such sparks of fear clearly follow a Quranic verse that tells of "striking terror in the hearts of the enemy" -- a verse frequently used in radical Islamist circles. This was likely the driving motivation for the copycat bombers, rather than the motivation (or capability) to kill.

The July 21 incidents in London demonstrate the vulnerabilities of and difficulties in securing public transportation systems. Furthermore, if these small bombs could be taken into exactly the same kinds of targets as the July 7 bombs, more serious incidents cannot be ruled out.

[zippyjuan]

Sounds like some idiots (perhaps kids) trying to be copy- cats. Very stupid!

[zippyjuan]

Two Arrested in London Subway, Bus Blasts
July 21, 2005 4:46 PM EDT
LONDON - Small explosions struck the London Underground and a bus at midday Thursday in a chilling but bloodless replay of the suicide bombings that killed 56 people two weeks ago. Police made two arrests in the case.

No one was injured in the coordinated lunch-hour blasts, which shocked and disrupted the capital and were hauntingly similar to the July 7 bombings by four attackers.

Police Commissioner Ian Blair said forensic evidence collected from the crime scenes could provide a "significant break" in solving the case, and hours later police announced two arrests in connection with the latest attacks.

One man was arrested near Downing Street, site of the prime minister's residence, and the other near Tottenham Court Road, which is near the Warren Street subway station where one of the incidents took place. Police said the men were being questioned.

"Clearly, the intention must have been to kill," Blair told a news conference. "You don't do this with any other intention."

He also said it was not clear if the two sets of attacks were connected