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MI5 'clueless' about bombings
29/01/2006 13:01 - (SA)
London - British spies have acknowledged major gaps in their knowledge of the July 7 London transit bombings, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Sunday Times said a leaked memo acknowledged that the domestic intelligence service MI5 had learned little about how the attacks were planned or whether the al-Qaeda terrorist network was involved.
"We know little about what three of the bombers did in Pakistan, when attack planning began, how and when the attackers were recruited, the extent of any external direction or assistance and the extent and role of any wider network," said the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre memo, which the newspaper said was prepared for Prime Minister Tony Blair and other ministers.
The Times said the report was delivered in October, but sources had said "the situation has changed little since then."
Blair's office refused to comment on the document.
Four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters when they detonated bombs on three subway trains and a bus on July 7. It was the deadliest attack in London since World War II
The memo also said it was not clear whether the July 7 bombs and a failed attack two weeks later were connected. No one was hurt on July 21 when explosives aboard three subway trains and a bus failed to detonate.
Spy chiefs admitted "we still do not know whether we are dealing with an orchestrated campaign or coincidental/copycat attacks," the newspaper said.
"Whilst investigations are progressing, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge," the newspaper quoted the report as saying.
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