Bomber 'ate at McDonald's'

2005-08-25 12:54

London - One of the four suspected London bombers ate a last snack at McDonald's and left frantic phone messages for his three dead accomplices before blowing himself up on a bus seven weeks ago, the Independent reported on Thursday.

Detectives have been trying to piece together the final movements of Hassib Hussain, 18, from when he left his fellow suspected attackers at King's Cross station, north London, to when he targeted the packed double-decker bus.

Police at Scotland Yard refused to comment on the investigation.

Hussain - the youngest member of the gang - is believed to have detonated his bomb on the number 30 bus at Tavistock Square, central London, at 09:47.

The blast came 57 minutes after the three other bombers hit subway trains travelling south, east and west from King's Cross. Britain's worst terrorist atrocity on July 7 left 56 people dead, including the four attackers.

It had been claimed that Hussain originally planned to target a northbound Northern Line train - creating a so-called burning cross through the heart of the British capital - but this plan was thwarted after the line was suspended.

Running

A Transport for London spokesperson said, however, all six subway lines running through King's Cross were working at about 08:50, the time of the bombings.

"The theory that he took a bus because he couldn't take the Northern Line is not correct because he could have taken the Northern Line because it was running," the spokesperson said on Thursday.

He said London Underground, which transports some three million passengers a day, had been experiencing routine disruptions elsewhere that morning.

A southern section of the Northern Line between Morden and Stockwell stations had been suspended from 06:29 because of a defective train, but this had not affected services around King's Cross.

Detectives following Hussain's final movements are particularly keen to learn whether he met anybody in the interim, the Independent newspaper said.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured all four men arriving at King's Cross on a train from Luton, a town north of London.

The Independent reported that Hussain was later caught on CCTV camera entering a McDonald's fast food outlet.

- SAPA