Second Car Bomb Discovered In London
A second car bomb was discovered in central London, police said Friday, hours after defusing an explosive device found in a Mercedes car parked outside a busy nightclub.
London was in a state of lockdown Friday after police located the first device in the tourist epicenter of the city, and began a search of the city's tourist landmarks for others. Hours later, they found one, near Hyde Park.
CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports the second car had originally been parked around the corner from the nightclub — it had been ticketed and towed overnight, a mile and a half away, to Park Lane, where the smell of gas fumes raised suspicion. It's clearly linked, police said, to the first car bomb.
British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said the bomb discovered in London's West End could have caused "significant injury or loss of life" had it exploded.
"The [second] vehicle was found to contain very similar materials to those that had been found in the first car," Clarke said. "There was a considerable amount of fuel and gas canisters. As in the first vehicle, there was also a quantity of nails. This, like the first device, was potentially viable."
However, sources have told CBS News that it is still too early to know if the plot is connected to al Qaeda or is limited to homegrown U.K. terrorists. Sources said the bombs found were not "amateurish."
Britain's new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, summoned top officials for an emergency meeting Friday, calling the attempted attack "international terrorism."
Hours later, police closed a major road on the edge of Hyde Park, and began clearing people out of the area following reports of a suspicious vehicle.
He said police were "reviewing plans" for events scheduled in London during the weekend.
"We are currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism," Smith told reporters after the emergency meeting. "This reinforces the need for the public to remain vigilant to the threat we face at all times."
Clarke said the car bomb was discovered after an ambulance crew was called to a nearby nightclub at about 1 a.m. because someone had taken ill inside. The crew noticed the car parked outside the Tiger Tiger Club and what appeared to be smoke inside the passenger area.
Police were called and explosives officers dismantled the device by hand.
"All I kept thinking was, thank God, there must be an angel on my shoulders," one woman said, "because if that had gone off — glass, everything — we wouldn't have been alive today.
Clarke commended the bravery of the bomb squad and said they had not only prevented possible damage and injury, but provided investigators with valuable evidence.
The BBC reported that almost 16 gallons of gasoline were found in the car, and that law enforcement sources said it was possible the device had failed to detonate before it was discovered.
Sky reported that police believed the device was to be detonated remotely by cell phone, and that an explosives officer who arrived early on the scene reached into the car and removed a phone that was part of the trigger system.
The central area of London where the device was found would have been packed with nightclub patrons at that hour of the night. Clarke said it was too early to tell whether the Tiger Tiger nightclub, outside of which the car was found, was the intended target of the plot.
"Forensic staff are still examining the device, but once we know more about it, we'll know more about what type of individuals are behind this," an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security details, told the Associated Press earlier.
Roth said the investigation caused massive gridlock as police shut down streets around the scene — one of the busiest areas in London, known as Haymarket.
The incident also presented the first crisis for the cabinet of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, reported Roth.
Brown, who took office on Wednesday, said the incident was a reminder that Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the "need to be alert."
"I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days," Brown said.
Prof. Michael Clarke of King's College, a British terrorism analyst, told CBS News that the device appeared to be part of an "amateur" plot using a homemade bomb — but a large one. He said the device appeared to be part of a "well-coordinated" plan.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. London was in a state of lockdown Friday after police located the first device in the tourist epicenter of the city, and began a search of the city's tourist landmarks for others. Hours later, they found one, near Hyde Park.
CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports the second car had originally been parked around the corner from the nightclub — it had been ticketed and towed overnight, a mile and a half away, to Park Lane, where the smell of gas fumes raised suspicion. It's clearly linked, police said, to the first car bomb.
British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said the bomb discovered in London's West End could have caused "significant injury or loss of life" had it exploded.
"The [second] vehicle was found to contain very similar materials to those that had been found in the first car," Clarke said. "There was a considerable amount of fuel and gas canisters. As in the first vehicle, there was also a quantity of nails. This, like the first device, was potentially viable."
However, sources have told CBS News that it is still too early to know if the plot is connected to al Qaeda or is limited to homegrown U.K. terrorists. Sources said the bombs found were not "amateurish."
Britain's new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, summoned top officials for an emergency meeting Friday, calling the attempted attack "international terrorism."
Hours later, police closed a major road on the edge of Hyde Park, and began clearing people out of the area following reports of a suspicious vehicle.
Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said "our overriding objective is to protect, put in place cordons, and make sure areas are properly searched."
Was the London bomb plot heralded on the Web?
CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals reports on posts in Internet forums made the night before.
He said police were "reviewing plans" for events scheduled in London during the weekend.
"We are currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism," Smith told reporters after the emergency meeting. "This reinforces the need for the public to remain vigilant to the threat we face at all times."
Clarke said the car bomb was discovered after an ambulance crew was called to a nearby nightclub at about 1 a.m. because someone had taken ill inside. The crew noticed the car parked outside the Tiger Tiger Club and what appeared to be smoke inside the passenger area.
Police were called and explosives officers dismantled the device by hand.
"All I kept thinking was, thank God, there must be an angel on my shoulders," one woman said, "because if that had gone off — glass, everything — we wouldn't have been alive today.
Clarke commended the bravery of the bomb squad and said they had not only prevented possible damage and injury, but provided investigators with valuable evidence.
The BBC reported that almost 16 gallons of gasoline were found in the car, and that law enforcement sources said it was possible the device had failed to detonate before it was discovered.
Sky reported that police believed the device was to be detonated remotely by cell phone, and that an explosives officer who arrived early on the scene reached into the car and removed a phone that was part of the trigger system.
The central area of London where the device was found would have been packed with nightclub patrons at that hour of the night. Clarke said it was too early to tell whether the Tiger Tiger nightclub, outside of which the car was found, was the intended target of the plot.
"Forensic staff are still examining the device, but once we know more about it, we'll know more about what type of individuals are behind this," an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security details, told the Associated Press earlier.
(CBS)
The incident also presented the first crisis for the cabinet of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, reported Roth.
Brown, who took office on Wednesday, said the incident was a reminder that Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the "need to be alert."
"I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days," Brown said.
Prof. Michael Clarke of King's College, a British terrorism analyst, told CBS News that the device appeared to be part of an "amateur" plot using a homemade bomb — but a large one. He said the device appeared to be part of a "well-coordinated" plan.
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Posted by speakinup at 11:17 AM : Jun 30, 2007
Oh and BTW, I already have written several emails to the chimp in charge and accused him of being a thief and murderer. i always get the same form letter response that while he disagrees with me he's still glad to read my comments. I have a feeling his official email address if filled with letters like mine everyday. As for threatening him, why give the as*shole that kind of opening? He already knows how I and 70%+ of the American people feel about what a dic*khead he is and he's never sent the FBI after me yet. Sort of a shame as they used to drop around every 5 or 6 years to check in on me and to remind me my security clearance forbids me from certain things, but they haven't been around in quite awhile? I wonder if I offended them somehow? LOL!
What a Maroon you really are! Entertaining though!
Posted by speakinup at 11:17 AM : Jun 30, 2007
ROTFLMFAO!!!! Yep I am, because if you ever did serve as an officer and you very fu*cking ignorant to treat your Noncoms the way your describe then at least it would explain why you never were a success as an officer!!!
Article 15 for that comment? Who in the hell are you trying to bullsh*it? It'd be laughed out of any CO's office and either you know that and are lying (a good chance) or you're lying about having ever worn the uniform. I am sort of curious as to why if you went through all the trouble to ask a real vet (or look it up online) and found out what an article 15 was, why they didn't tell you that any Noncom would have laughed his as*s off at you if you ever threatened him with one for one of the longest running ribs in the military! You're so full of shg*it that I can promise you your eyes are deep brown! LOL!
Article 15 for that!!! ROTFLMFAO!!!!
He will not be lonely in his exclusive sadistic club.
Is it not past your bed time, even on the west coast.
Your eatery sounds good.
Posted by rheola at 03:05 AM : Jun 30, 2007
He will indeed. He still has some followers though, who I don't think really believe him any longer (except for the right wing religious nuts and they never were rational in the first place), but they're just too pig-headed and/or embarrassed at being conned by him to desert him now. Right now they're somewhere around 18% of the electorate. However someday their grandchildren will never admit that their grandparents where so stupid as to have stuck with Bush to the bitter end...which is coming soon.
Thanks for the complement on my menu! I love to cook! Oh and my bed time is usually my wife's bedtime, because she CLIAMS the sound of the keyboard bothers her even from two rooms away! Scheeesssshhhh!!
;-)
More wishful rantings of an ultra-left, 'hind-sight is always 20-20', rosie odonell lovin, socialistic, wish-I-had-done-more-with-my-life, sad, liberal; that feels the oh-poor-me attitude which needs to project its stupid ideas on the public. Go say these things on a soap box in some park. See if 72% gather around you and start agreeing. Your world of liberal bias would come crumbling down around you, once you got ignored, or laughted at. Nah - go ahead and do it from the safty of under your rock.
Of course - you had the choice of signing on to the article 15 or taking the courts martial, but that would only make things worse if you were that stupid - because we never offered an Article 15 without knowing we had you by the nuts, and the penalities would just get stiffer when you lost there.
On the President working for you - why don't you just give him a call sarge and let him know "he's using (US Service men)for his thefts, murders and other crimes of his administration." as you always say. While you are at it make a threat. Then we'd have one more of you nut cases under observation.
Still convinced I never served ? Oh, and by the way, we officers we smart enough to let you THINK you ran the Army.
Of course it is not my place really, to say so, however G.W.Bush will be way uip there with Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Adolf, Kublai Khan Idi Amin, and quite a few of others.
He will not be lonely in his exclusive sadistic club.
Is it not past your bed time, even on the west coast.
Your eatery sounds good.
"i'm thinking our involvement in their part of the world may have just a little more to do with it than our choice of entertainment or our "way of life"."
Posted by ThisMachine at 02:26 AM : Jun 30, 2007
Absolutely spot on.
Posted by rheola at 02:36 AM : Jun 30, 2007
We used to be, at least most of the time, once upon a time. I know it's only been 6+ years, but it seems to be forever ago when we still had some reason to expect at least some respect from the rest of the civilized world, but Bush pis*sed it all away. It takes many years, maybe even a lifetime, to build respect and a reputation, but Bush has proved you can destroy it all in just moments. History will curse George W. Bush for as long as there is a history to be written. Centuries from now he'll still be looked at with disgust and scorn.