London 'suicide bombers' dead
2005-07-12 20:12
Anna Tomforde
London - British police said on Tuesday all four men behind the terrorist blasts in London last week are believed to have died in what security sources said were suicide bombings.
One man was arrested in raids on the homes of three of the suspects in the northern British city of Leeds on Tuesday, from where the men had travelled to London's King's Cross station on the morning of the blasts.
A fourth man had joined them.
The four, all British-born, were caught on CCTV footage at King's Cross station about 20 minutes before the attacks, assistant London police commissioner Andy Hayman said.
Documents and property belonging to the three terrorists who blew up the underground (Tube) trains had been "found close to their seats", and property of the fourth suspect, who blew up a London bus, had also been traced among the debris.
The breakthrough came after anti-terrorist raids on altogether six properties in Leeds, 320km from London, early on Tuesday, which followed identification of the bus bomber the previous evening, police said.
Suicide attack
Security experts said on Tuesday it was clear that the London blasts, in which 52 people died, were the first "suicide bomb attacks on European soil".
On Tuesday, 55 people were still in hospital, some with serious injuries.
Anti-terrorist officers assisted by army disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion at a housing complex in Leeds, a city with a large Muslim population.
A police robot was used in the bomb disposal operation, which also prompted the evacuation of up to 600 people from homes, an old age home and a mosque.
In a separate move, police Tuesday closed the main railway station in Luton, north of London.
Officers carried out several controlled explosions before removing a vehicle from a car park that was linked to the attacks.
Police said Tuesday's operations followed about 1 700 calls from the public with information.
Officers had also begun to sift through 2 500 hours of CCTV film recording the events of last Thursday. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA