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Nail bomb said to explode on London tube-source
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - A nail bomb exploded at London's Warren Street underground station on Thursday, a source at a city transport company said.
The source also said there was a report of one shooting but did not specify where.

(i think this is about last weeks bombs)

ALERT-SWEDEN-LONDON-BLAST

Swede suspected of involvement in London blasts

Text of report by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet website on 21 July; subheadings as published:

A Swedish man may have been involved in the London bombings. The man, who described himself as "Usamah Bin-Ladin's torpedo", has links to the man who is suspected of being the brains behind the attacks, according to British newspaper The Times.

The 39-year-old Swede is a good friend of British Al-Qa'idah member Haroon Rashid Aswat, 30, who is suspected of being the brains behind the attacks in London, according to The Times.

Arrested in Pakistan

Haroon Rashid Aswat is said to have directed the perpetrators up until the attacks through mobile phone conversations. He is then said to have left the United Kingdom hours before the bombs exploded. Aswat was arrested in Sargodha, Pakistan, earlier this week and has been interviewed in Pakistan about his involvement in the attacks, security-service sources have told the British media. Aswat was armed and wearing a belt carrying explosives when he was arrested, security-service sources told The Times. However, his arrest has not been confirmed by the Pakistani authorities. The Swedish Security Police will neither confirm nor deny any details about Aswat's Swedish friend. "We never comment on current operations. Doing so can disrupt our work. Our British colleagues must be allowed to work in peace and quiet, Anders Thornberg of the Swedish Security Police tells afonbladet.se.

Attempted to set up training camp

Aswat and the 39-year-old have been known to Western intelligence services for several years. In the late 1990s they attempted together to set up a training camp for potential terrorists on a farm in Oregon in the USA. The 39-year-old man was born in Lebanon. He came to Sweden in the early 1980s and became a Swedish citizen in 1989. According to his own statements he has fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir. He described himself as "Usamah Bin-Ladin's torpedo" in the early 2000s and compared himself to a character from the film "The Godfather". "Yes, indeed - regard me as a Luca Brasi with a turban," he said, according to American media reports. However, he retracted his comments in an interview in The Seattle Times in 2002. "I am a supporter. I love Usamah Bin-Ladin," he told the newspaper.

Suspected of terrorist offences

The man was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment in Stockholm City Court in November 2003 for illegally possessing weapons in his flat in southern Stockholm.

He was also suspected of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts by preparing them or alternatively conspiring to commit criminal damage, but was never remanded.

The 39-year-old man was defended by solicitor Bengt Soderstroem in Stockholm.

"The allegations against him were obviously flimsy as he was never remanded. I defended him then but I have had no contact with him since then," Bengt Soderstroem tells aftonbladet.se.

Source: Aftonbladet website, Stockholm, in Swedish 21 Jul 05

BBC Mon Alert EU1 EuroPol mmcn


21/07/2005 12:37 GMT

Explosion on bus in east London - Sky TV
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Britain's Sky TV on Thursday reported an explosion on a bus in the Hackney area of London but said there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Police confirmed they were responding to an "incident" on the number 26 bus on Hackney Road, east London.

TAC0529274

(CUE: Police in London have said emergency services had been called to three London underground railway stations. A spokesman at Scotland Yard police headquarters confirmed that emergency services are responding to reports of incidents at three locations on the underground - Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush. A BBC reporter is near the underground station at Warren Street:)

BAND Male BBC reporter - name awaited: I've actually just run to the area where this is taking place. The blue cord is up. There are some people standing around watching. There are about half a dozen police officers here at the moment and we've got two patrol cars so at the moment really people are just wondering what is happening. We haven't heard any information yet but the situation at Warren Street is there is nothing actually that I can see at the station itself but as I said the whole area between where I am now is cordoned off and up towards Tottenham Court Road is also cordoned off here in this area just off Fitzroy Square in this part of London.

INITIALS: hm SOURCE: NEWS 24 QUALITY: phone DATE: 21/07/2005 13:38:12




(Newsroom story )

UPDATE 1-Security alerts at three London stations -police
(Updates with details,background)
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Emergency services rushed to three London underground stations in London on Thursday, two weeks after bomb attacks killed more than 50 people.
There were also reports of an explosion on a bus in the Hackney area of east London.
Transport authorities said no one was reported injured in the incidents.
Sky TV, quoting a police source, said the explosions were detontors rather than bombs themselves.
But a source at the underground transport company said one nail bomb exploded at Warren Street underground station. There were also unconfirmed reports of a shooting.
One witness said he was told by a fellow passenger that a small explosion blew apart a rucksack on one underground train.
Bomb attacks on three undergound trains and a bus in London killed 56 people, including the four bombers, on July 7.
A spokesman at Scotland Yard police headquarters told Reuters: "We can confirm emergency services are responding to reports of incidents at three locations on the underground -- Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush."
The Fire Brigade said Warren Street underground station was evacuated after reports that smoke was seen coming out of a train.
The witness told Sky TV a passenger on a train near Warren Street underground station had told him there had been a small explosion in a passenger's rucksack.
"The rucksack was blown open by the force of a minor explosion," he said.
A television reporter at Oval underground station said police had cordoned off the area and brought in sniffer dogs.
(SECURITY-BRITAIN, Reporting by Paul Majendie, editing by Steve Pagani; Reuters Messaging: paul.majendie.reuters.com@reuters.net +44 207 542 7947))

TAC0529276

(CUE: Police and emergency services are responding to reports of incidents at three London Underground stations - Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush. Three Tube lines have been suspended and emergency services are also responding to reports of an incident on a bus in east London. Cindy Butts is the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority - she was on a bus at Shepherd's Bush when the area was cordoned off and told NEWS 24 what happened:)

BAND 1 Cindy BUTTS (f) I was actually on a bus at Shepherd's Bush and about ten minutes ago we were all told to get off the bus, the road was cordoned off to the junction of Uxbridge Road in Shepherd's Bush and also Goldhawk Road. Traffic is not coming through. There are lots of police officers around, lots of sniffer dogs. People from London Transport and of course lots of members of the public not quite certain what they are meant to be doing and in a state I would say of slight confusion. It is pretty worrying really because obviously we're close to the BBC where we have had incidents in the past but the main thing is I think there is some issue about the communication because people are just standing around, there is noone really on a loudspeaker actually informing people of what is going on so they can be a bit more calm and a bit more understanding in terms of recognising that the police are doing a job. I can now hear helicopters going above us.

The BBC correspondent, Duncan Kennedy is at Shepherd's Bush. He told FIVE LIVE what he could see: 16607

BAND 2 Duncan KENNEDY (m) The whole area around Shepherd's Bush has now been sealed off. It is not just the Uxbridge Road where the tube station is based. It is the green as well and there are police at both ends of the green. It is not clear what has happened here. I can just see on my left hand side on Shepherd's Bush green itself which is in the west of London about five or six police cars with their lights going and on my right looking down Uxbridge Road, about 100 yards from the tube station another ten or fifteen police officers sealing off the road so the process of securing the area is still going on as I'm speaking but as to what has happened yet we're none the wiser.

INITIALS: hm SOURCE: N24/R5 QUALITY: phone DATE: 21/07/2005 13:52:01

--------------------------

FROM PATRICK GREGORY, MILLBANK, 36096

Vicki Young reports that Westminster tube station has also been evacuated.

URGENT Blair postpones visit to school over London transport incidents

LONDON, July 21 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday postponed a visit to a school in east London following unspecified incidents at three London subway stations and on a bus, a spokesperson said.
lc/gd
AFP 211256 GMT JUL 05

Bus windows blown out, no injuries - bus operator
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - An explosion blew out the windows of a bus in the Hackney area of London on Thursday but there were no reports of injuries, bus operator Stagecoach said.
"The driver heard a bang he believed came from the upper desk of the bus. The windows were blown out. There are no reports of any injuries," a Stagecoach spokesman said.
The No. 26 bus was travelling from Waterloo to Hackney in the east of city. The incident occured in the Shoreditch area, the spokesman said.
He said the structure of the bus was intact but some windows were blown out.

Very odd indeed...

Keep the info coming hatchelt

Statement from Metropolitan Police

We can confirm that emergency services personnel have responded to reports of incidents at 4 sites across the capital. They are Oval, Shepherds Bush, Warren Street and Hackney Road, E2.

As a precaution officers have been deployed at Warren Street London Underground station in full protective equipment in order to carry out an examination of the scene. We have carried out initial examination at Oval and early indications show no trace of chemical agents.

At this stage we have no reported casualties.

We ask people to remain at work or home at this stage and await further information.

Non attrib:following tube lines are suspended: Victoria, Northern, Hammersmith and City, Bakerloo. Press Bureau New Scotland Yard
________
HONDA ADVERT REMOVED

hatchelt wrote:Journalists are expected to be taken inside Downing St at 1500 to set up for a press conference with the Prime Minister and John Howard, the
Australian Prime Minister. The press conference should start approx 1530.

EDIT: Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to address the media in Downing Street at 3.15pm.

Hi there! You turn PowerSwitch to my main channel for events like these! Nice job - Thanks!

Yes, I tuned in here too when the BBC news was still telling me nothing. At the same time CNN had more than my national broadcaster was giving out...

Big thanks to Hatchelt once again. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Tattercoats

Did anyone read the Guardian criteque of the Beeb after the 7/7 bombs?

I can't just find the link to it right now (sorry!)

They essentially accused the beeb of being too slow to broadcast the "latest" news, probably for fear of being wrong.

They praised Sky for risking it and broadcasting what could have just been hearsay but at least people could stay current with the latest "gossip".

I love the Beeb and they are still my fave mainstream news outlet but I do have some reserverations about hom they seem to make editorial decisions (essentialyl I am talking about News24).

I like hatchelt's version of the Beeb during a breaking story and BIG UP to him (or her?) for posting here and keeping us informed - nice one

22/7 London shooting:


CUE: London police shot a man at the Stockwell underground train station on Friday, a police spokeswoman said. Media reports said they had killed a suspected suicide bomber but the police would not give any further details. Police have confirmed that a man was shot by armed officers at an Underground subway station in south London, amid reports that he was a would-be suicide bomber. Eyewitness Mark Whitby described what he saw at Stockwell Station:)

BAND 1 Mark WHITBY (m) People were just... it was just mayhem. People were just getting off the tube. I've never seen people so fast in all my life. There was no actual... they were plain clothes police, I didn't see any uniform police at that time. There were no uniformed police giving any instruction at all. It was just an instinctive reaction just to get out.

He was asked to describe what he thought was going on:

BAND 2 Mark WHITBY (m) I don't know. I was sitting there reading my paper peacefully and I just put two and two together really. I just felt that he had been maybe asked to stop and he'd tried to make a getaway from the police and he was shot through this action. I'm just waiting for the pubs to open to be quite honest, have a nice stiff Scotch. I've never seen anything like it in my life really. I saw them kill a man basically. I saw them shoot a man five times.

More from eyewitness Mark Whitby who described what he saw at Stockwell Station

HE told NEWS 24 what happened when he left the train. "I got into the ticket hall. I was approached by a policeman and London Underground staff asking me if I needed counselling. I was just basically saying I've just seen a man shot dead. I've seen a man shot dead. I was distraught, totally distraught. It was no less than five yards away from where I was sitting. I actually saw it with my own eyes. Hayton: Did you see any reason why the man should be running onto the train pursued by the police like that? Whitby: No. As he got onto the train I looked at his face, he looked sort of left and right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit basically, a cornered fox. He looked absolutely petrified and then as I say he sort of tripped, but they were hotly pursuing him, they were, couldn't have been no more than two or three feet behind him at this time and he half tripped and was half pushed to the floor and the policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand. He held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him"

MARK WHITBY (2). NEWS 24 @ 11.05 [<mos><mosID>VCS.MOSGW5.TVC.BBC.MOS</mosID><mosAbstract>VCS audio insert<br/>
NAME: NEWSWIRE STOCKWELL WHITBY (2)<br/>
NUMBER: 18186<br/>