Third terror cell at large

2005-07-31 08:01

London - A third terror cell is planning multiple suicide bomb attacks on London, security sources told a British Sunday newspaper.

The Sunday Times said they were on the loose and planning further blasts on "soft" targets in the centre of the city such as the Underground subway network.

On July 7, four suicide bombers killed themselves and 52 others in blasts on three Underground trains and a bus.

A similar repeat attack on July 21 by another foursome fell through when their devices failed to explode fully.

The Sunday Times said intelligence of a third cell with access to explosives and plans to hit London with a third wave of attacks sparked Thursday's unprecedented deployment of 6 000 police officers on the city's streets.

The details were revealed to top police commanders on Wednesday in an emergency conference at the New Scotland Yard headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police.

At least four of the alleged June 21 bombers are now in custody - three in London and one in Rome after swoops in the British and Italian capitals Friday.

Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist chief Peter Clarke said in a press conference that despite Friday's arrests "we must not be complacent. The threat remains and is very real."

The Sunday Times reported members of the third cell were said to be independent of the July 7 and 21 bombers but were associated with some of the suspects arrested over the July 21 attacks.

A member of the Metropolitan Police's firearms unit which nabbed suspected suicide bombers in dramatic raids told The Sunday Times: "What we did on Friday was just the tip of the iceberg.

"There is some big stuff coming in the next few months. There's a big network that's got to be cracked."

- AFP