London Tube attacked

chewie_nz

Banned
Several injured in London blasts
Several people have been injured after explosions on the Underground network and a double-decker bus in London.
A police spokesman said there were "quite a large number of casualties" at Aldgate Tube Station.

And Scotland Yard confirmed one of several reports of explosions on buses in the city - in Tavistock Place - but said the cause was not yet known.

One caller to BBC Five said his friend had seen "the bus ripped open like a can of sardines and bodies everywhere."

PA also quoted union officials as saying sources had told them there had been at least one explosive device on the Underground.

British Transport Police Surges took place at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square stations.

Scotland Yard confirmed they were assisting with a "major incident" and said there were casualties.

A spokesman said officers were called out to Aldgate station at 8.50am to assist City of London and British Transport Police.

"All of the emergency services are on scene. There have been some casualties. This has been declared as a major incident," said the spokesman. "It's too early to state what has happened at this stage," he said.

The National Grid, which supplies power to the Underground, said there had been no problems with its system which could have contributed to the incidents.

'Screaming and crying'

Jacqui Head, from BBC News, who had just left King's Cross station on a Piccadilly Line train as an explosion happened, said: "Everything was normal. Suddenly there was a massive bang, the train jolted.

"There was immediately smoke everywhere and it was hot and everybody panicked. People started screaming and crying."

The train was kept in the tunnel for 20 minutes and no announcement was made to explain the delay to passengers, she added.

London Fire Brigade said four crews were at Liverpool Street and more were on their way.

Another passenger, who had left the Tube at Fenchurch Street Station, and walked to Aldgate East, told BBC Five Live that he saw injured people.

"As I walked through the bus station I could see people lying on the ground, black, as if they'd been covered in smoke. There were about three or four people on the floor being treated."

Eyewitness Paul Woloszyn from BBC News, who was at Blackhorse Road station on the Victoria Line, said: "We were told there was a bomb at Liverpool Street station.


"I was on the Tube, and they stopped the train and told everyone to get off and evacuate the station."

He said staff had said the entire Tube network had been affected, and leaflets had been handed out with details of alternative bus routes.

Another eyewitness, Dorothy Molloy, had been on a Tube train at King's Cross and said "staff just chucked everyone out of the station".

She said staff there had not given any details, but she said two passengers she had spoken to had said they had received messages saying there had been bombs.

"People didn't really know what was going on, they were just huffing and puffing and saying how annoying it was," she said.

"People don't seem to be panicked, but there's so many police and ambulances coming into the areas. People are just concerned, and some are just annoyed at the delay."

If you're in the area we would like to hear from you. Send us your comments using the form below including if possible a phone number. If you have any pictures please send them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or by mobile phone to 07921 648159.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/london/4659093.stm

Published: 2005/07/07 09:34:51 GMT
 
Blasts hit London Underground, buses


Thursday 07 July 2005, 14:26 Makka Time, 11:26 GMT


Emergency teams have responded to the blasts



Explosions have rocked London, killing at least two and wounding scores in what Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terror attack coinciding with a meeting of Group of Eight leaders in Scotland.



Witnesses on Thursday saw the top was ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square close to King's Cross train terminal and the twisted wreckage of another in Tavistock Square nearby.

Several underground subway stations also were hit.

Two people were killed in the rush-hour explosion at Aldgate East underground station, police said.

"[We can] confirm there were two fatalities at Aldgate East
station this morning," a police spokeswoman said.

"It is reasonably clear that there have been a series of terrorist attacks in London," Blair told reporters at the
summit. He said he would return to London.

A doctor at Aldgate underground station in the east of the financial centre of the city said at least 90 people were
wounded at that location alone.

London's police chief Ian Blair said there were indications of explosives at one of the blast sites.

"We are aware that one of the sites certainly does contain indications of explosives," he told Sky Television. "We are
concerned that this is a co-ordinated attack."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Covered in blood

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

Police said many of the city's underground stations were affected.


Passengers were evacuated from
many stations


Initially, rail officials blamed the explosions on a power surge.

"It is too early to state what has happened," a London police spokesman said. "I cannot comment on reports of bombs, but we have had multi-reports of explosions around London."

Another police spokesman said: "There have been some casualties and this has been declared a major incident."

Signs of attack

Security experts said the incidents bore all the hallmarks of an al-Qaida attack.

"If we what are looking at is a simultaneous bombing - and it does look like that - it would very certainly fit the classic al-Qaida methodology," said Shane Brighton, intelligence expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence.

Financial markets took fright, with stocks diving and demand for government bonds and safe-haven currencies soaring.

The first reports of blasts centred on the city's underground railway system.

Aldgate East station

Emergency services rushed to Aldgate East at 8.59am (0759 GMT).

"There were people streaming out of Aldgate station covered in blood," said witness Kate Heywood, 27, on her way to work.

A Reuters correspondent at Oxford Circus, at the heart of the system, heard an announcement over the public-address system saying: "A power outage has occurred London-wide. All train services are suspended."

Police sealed off large areas around other underground and mainline railway stations. Firefighters donned chemical protection suits before rushing into stations.

Half a dozen people with soot-blackened faces and dishevelled clothes sat on the floor at Russell Square station or stood in shock as police cordoned off the area and ambulance crews raced in, one witness said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/812224C7-006D-4424-B15B-EC3E8381A4D7.htm
 
Yeah let me be the first European to comment on this.
It's been a barbaric act of terrorism but we weren't unfortunately caught by surprise. We knew it was a matter of when and not of if.
London is considered to be like home for thousands of European youth who go there in the summer, like I did many times.
I know London pretty well, I used to live at Finsbury Park, the area where all the major mosques and militants from al Qaeda affiliates were arrested.
This was aimed at killing as many innocents as possible.
But Blair is not anything like Zapatero: the British people are not coward.
They are brave enough to show determination and strength against the evil forces of terror.
I'm with them.
 
i'm watching this on the news. we knew this was going to happen some time a cowardly attack on brit civilians isn't going to change our policy on terrorism 1 bit all it will do is make our people dig there heels in and fight back. must say our emergency services are doing a magnificent job helping the injured
 
I think that with the unfortunate experiences the British have had with the IRA bombings that they will recover quickly. Because of those past experiences, I think the possible initial knee jerk reaction (fear or panic) will subside quickly and the Brits will not let these attacks affect their resolve and determination just as grunt7LI says.
 
Italian Guy said:
It's been a barbaric act of terrorism but we weren't unfortunately caught by surprise. We knew it was a matter of when and not of if.

That was my thought at first as well... :?

My thoughts goes to everyone involved in these tragic and barbaric acts of terrorism..
 
Found this on another site.

We'll go forward from this moment on

It's my job to have something to say.
They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the British soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering. You monster, You beast, You unspeakable fatherless. What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our Country, our Capital, us?
What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. Let me tell you about my people.

We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a football team's misfortune, a soap opera. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving
and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak.

You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals or attacks. IN PAIN Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as one of the worst acts of terrorism on the mainland United Kingdom and, probably, the history of the country. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall.

This is the lesson germany was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future. In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined. ITS THE STEEL IN US You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood, by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Britain’s we will weep, as Britain’s we will mourn, and as Britain’s, we will rise in defence of all that we cherish. So I ask again:

What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:

You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of.

But you're about to learn.
 
Statement by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on London Bombings

_ _ This morning, the civilized world watched with concern as the people
of London saw the face of violence and brutality. We offer our deepest sympathies
to the families who have lost loved ones and to those who were wounded.

Too often the global struggle against violent extremists is discussed
in a context that can distract from the harsh reality that its victims are innocent
mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and neighbors we see and work with every
day.

Images from London have shown faces filled with tears and shock. Such
faces are sadly familiar to us here in America. However, reports from London are
already telling of calm passengers, compassionate strangers, and courageous
rescuers. And that too is familiar -- the grace and humanity that contrasts
vividly with the hatred and violence of terrorists.

The London attacks have a special resonance for the American people --
for America has no stronger or closer ally in the world than Great Britain. We are
bound together by a common heritage, a common language, and a deeply shared
commitment to freedom. As President Bush indicated earlier this morning, the
United States will stand with the British people with unflinching resolve.

Though it is not yet known with certainty precisely who is responsible,
we do know terrorists' intentions. They strike without warning and without regard
for human life in the hope that they can frighten and intimidate free people -- to
change our way of life. And they won't stop until their side or our side has
prevailed.

But if these terrorists thought they could intimidate the people of a
great nation, they picked the wrong people and the wrong nation. For generations,
tyrants, fascists, and terrorists have sought to carry out their violent designs
upon the British people only to founder upon its unrelenting shores.

Before long, I suspect that those responsible for these acts will
encounter British steel. Their kind of steel has an uncommon strength. It does
not bend or break.

The British have learned from history that this kind of evil must be
confronted. It cannot be appeased. Our two countries understand well that once a
people give in to terrorists' demands, whatever they are, their demands will grow.

The British people are determined and resolute. And I know the people
of the United States are proud to stand at their side.
 
It's so sad that such cowards tend to attack innocent civilians, terrorism is a problem we all have to deal with. My heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families as well as to the people of London. I agree with you all that the policy on terrorism will not change and this attack only will further our actions and determination to punish those who committ such heinous acts.
 
There is no way to ask this without sounding incredibly ignorant so I am just going to ask. Hasn't this happened to England before? I remember being told by brits that America supported terrorism because Americans sent money to their families in Northern Ireland who gave that money to the IRA who then used that money to commit acts of terror against the UK. (I know, I am ignorant of this subject.)

Just an interesting side note, Rudy Guliani was in London when these attacks occured.
 
These things are real cowards.

Doing this within days of London getting the Olympics, when everyone is happy, cheerful, celebrating.

The Australian Opposition Leader Kim Beazly has probably the best description of these things yet, "Sub-Human Filth, who need to be hunted down, captured and eliminated".

I'm not a labor supporter, but I agree with him on this.
 
Its horrible it happened. You can however rest assured that this isn't the end and that the people who are behind the bombs have the same thing to say about the countries they are targetting.
 
What happened yesterday is terrible, no one with a little bit of humanity can do that. We have to crush this bugs. I see many similarities with the bombing in Madrid last year. I think european secret servicies must be developed even more to destroy this threat.
 
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