Islamic website predicted London bomb hours before attack on nightclub
29th June 2007
Daily Mil
An Islamic fanatic predicted a terror blast in London - hours before today's thwarted bomb attack on a West End nightclub.
The chilling message, posted on a jihadist internet forum, warned: "Today, I say, Rejoice, by Allah,London shall be bombed."
Meanwhile, an international manhunt was launched tonight to find the gang - believed to be linked to al Qaeda - that came within moments of blowing up hundreds of revellers in a London nightclub.
As the capital remained on high alert, fresh details emerged of the "massive" car bomb - primed with petrol, gas canisters and nails - discovered by police in the heart of the West End. It was reported tonight that the bomb was to have been triggered by a mobile phone.
Park Lane, on Hyde Park's eastern edge, is closed tonight from Marble Arch to Hyde Park corner, with a 200-metre cordon around a suspicious vehicle in an underground car park.
The silver car was left outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub on Haymarket. A gas canister can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner of this picture
A 200 metre cordon is in place between Marble Arch and Hyde Park corner
Terrorists came within moments of causing carnage in London's West End with a Baghdad-style car bomb which had a radius of 200 yards.
Only a stroke of good luck and the heroism of bomb disposal men, who disabled the device by hand as it gave off fumes, prevented an atrocity.
Sky News reports that the police believe the bomb was set to be detonated by mobile phone trigger and that officers risked their lives by removing the trigger.
The warning of the attack on London was left by a man who goes by the name Osama al-Hazeen on the chat room "al Hesbah". Al-Hazeen is a regular user of the forum.
CBS News found the posting but has not been able to confirm a connection between the posting on Thursday night and the car bomb found in London today.
Speaking at a news conference earlier today after the bomb scare, Peter Clarke, the Metropolitan Police force's Counter-Terrorism Commander said that officials had "no indication that we were going to be attacked this way".
A Mercedes left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket was packed with 60 litres of petrol in containers, propane gas canisters and hundreds of nails. It also had a full tank of petrol.
More than 1,000 people were inside for a "Sugar 'n' Spice night" which the club calls the "finest ladies" night in London'. There were thousands more in the surrounding streets and neighbouring clubs.
The Tiger, Tiger nightclub on Haymarket
But before it could go off, the alarm was raised. An ambulance crew treating a man who had fallen over and banged his head happened to notice petrol vapour, which they thought was smoke, filling the car.
They rang police at about 1.30am and the area was sealed off as specialist officers raced to the scene to tackle it.
Music was turned off at the club and an announcement was made on the loudspeakers telling clubbers to leave immediately by a back entrance. Other clubs were also evacuated.
Police said it was a simple device similar to those used to devastating effect by car bombers in Iraq.
It was big enough to have caused major structural damage to the club, which is spread over three storeys.
One senior anti-terrorist source said: "This was a viable device which could have caused massive damage and killed hundreds if it had worked. The consequences would have been terrible. This is the scenario that we have dreaded."
Anti-terrorist officers are carrying out an urgent search for other possible car bombs as police enforced a "security lockdown" at other potential targets in London.
The silver Mercedes has been taken from the crime scene by anti-terrorist officers
Prime Minister Gordon Brown with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
A huge hunt is under way for the driver of the green-coloured car, who may have been caught on CCTV leaving the scene. He calmly parked the vehicle and walked away.
It is not known whether he was an al Qaeda suicide bomber who lost his nerve, or if the device was timed to go off when it would cause maximum casualties when the street was crowded with people leaving the club.
Part of Park Lane was closed to traffic this afternoon after reports of a suspicious car in the Mount Street car park. Scotland Yard said a 200-yard cordon was in place which will affect Oxford Circus, Green Park and the Curzon Street areas. People were being evacuated from Hyde Park.
Haymarket was shut for most of the day. Sixteen bus routes which normally pass through the area were being diverted.
Anti-terrorist officers have long feared a suicide or car bomb attack on a crowded club or pub in the city but sources said there had been no intelligence on a specific attack.
It had also been feared that terrorists would mount an attack to coincide with Gordon Brown taking over as Prime Minister. Sources say the most likely suspects are extremists linked to al Qaeda.
In April five British Muslim men were jailed for life for plotting a wave of al Qaeda bomb attacks - one target was to be the Ministry of Sound nightclub in Southwark.
There are also similarities to another al Qaeda-inspired plot, masterminded by Dhiren Barot, who had drawn up plans for limousines packed with explosives to be detonated in London. He was jailed for 30 years.
Security was being raised around London to a level not seen since the 7/7 attacks. Next Saturday is the second anniversary of the London bombings.
Gordon Brown said today's attempt was a reminder that Britain faces "a serious and continuous security threat".
Dozens of forensic officers are poring over the crime scene, which has been covered by a blue plastic police tent
A massive police cordon has been thrown around The Haymarket in London's West End
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith urged the public to report anything suspicious to the police. Speaking in her first full day in the job, Ms Smith said the device could have caused "a considerable loss of life" and praised the explosives experts who defused it.
The head of the Met's Anti-Terrorist Branch, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, said the technology used in the Mercedes bomb was the same as that used by insurgents in Iraq.
He said: "The police were called and Metropolitan Police explosives officers went to the scene and examined the car. In the car they found significant quantities of petrol together with a number of gas cylinders.
"It is appropriate for me to pay tribute to the courage and skill of the explosives officers who manually disabled the device."
Scotland Yard said extra police patrols were taking place across London as a result.
A spokesman said: "This is to provide a visible reassurance and is not in response to any specific threat."
Ken Livingstone said: "Once again the emergency services have served the capital well.
"The Metropolitan Police Service have dealt with this with great professionalism. I think we would all want to thank the explosives officers for their bravery in dismantling this device, which will also yield invaluable clues.
The car, believed to be a silver Mercedes, was driven into bins and the driver ran off
"The ambulance crew who originally alerted the police to this matter showed great vigilance and they deserve the praise of everyone who lives and works in London.
"The dense network of CCTV coverage now existing in central London will again be extremely important in yielding clues.
"I ask all Londoners and visitors to London to co-operate with the police and other agencies so that we can go about our business as safely as possible.
"London can help defeat terrorism, which means that all London's communities have their part to play in dealing with this threat."
dailymail.co.uk
29th June 2007
Daily Mil
An Islamic fanatic predicted a terror blast in London - hours before today's thwarted bomb attack on a West End nightclub.
The chilling message, posted on a jihadist internet forum, warned: "Today, I say, Rejoice, by Allah,London shall be bombed."
Meanwhile, an international manhunt was launched tonight to find the gang - believed to be linked to al Qaeda - that came within moments of blowing up hundreds of revellers in a London nightclub.
As the capital remained on high alert, fresh details emerged of the "massive" car bomb - primed with petrol, gas canisters and nails - discovered by police in the heart of the West End. It was reported tonight that the bomb was to have been triggered by a mobile phone.
Park Lane, on Hyde Park's eastern edge, is closed tonight from Marble Arch to Hyde Park corner, with a 200-metre cordon around a suspicious vehicle in an underground car park.
The silver car was left outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub on Haymarket. A gas canister can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner of this picture
A 200 metre cordon is in place between Marble Arch and Hyde Park corner
Terrorists came within moments of causing carnage in London's West End with a Baghdad-style car bomb which had a radius of 200 yards.
Only a stroke of good luck and the heroism of bomb disposal men, who disabled the device by hand as it gave off fumes, prevented an atrocity.
Sky News reports that the police believe the bomb was set to be detonated by mobile phone trigger and that officers risked their lives by removing the trigger.
The warning of the attack on London was left by a man who goes by the name Osama al-Hazeen on the chat room "al Hesbah". Al-Hazeen is a regular user of the forum.
CBS News found the posting but has not been able to confirm a connection between the posting on Thursday night and the car bomb found in London today.
Speaking at a news conference earlier today after the bomb scare, Peter Clarke, the Metropolitan Police force's Counter-Terrorism Commander said that officials had "no indication that we were going to be attacked this way".
A Mercedes left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket was packed with 60 litres of petrol in containers, propane gas canisters and hundreds of nails. It also had a full tank of petrol.
More than 1,000 people were inside for a "Sugar 'n' Spice night" which the club calls the "finest ladies" night in London'. There were thousands more in the surrounding streets and neighbouring clubs.
The Tiger, Tiger nightclub on Haymarket
But before it could go off, the alarm was raised. An ambulance crew treating a man who had fallen over and banged his head happened to notice petrol vapour, which they thought was smoke, filling the car.
They rang police at about 1.30am and the area was sealed off as specialist officers raced to the scene to tackle it.
Music was turned off at the club and an announcement was made on the loudspeakers telling clubbers to leave immediately by a back entrance. Other clubs were also evacuated.
Police said it was a simple device similar to those used to devastating effect by car bombers in Iraq.
It was big enough to have caused major structural damage to the club, which is spread over three storeys.
One senior anti-terrorist source said: "This was a viable device which could have caused massive damage and killed hundreds if it had worked. The consequences would have been terrible. This is the scenario that we have dreaded."
Anti-terrorist officers are carrying out an urgent search for other possible car bombs as police enforced a "security lockdown" at other potential targets in London.
The silver Mercedes has been taken from the crime scene by anti-terrorist officers
Prime Minister Gordon Brown with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
A huge hunt is under way for the driver of the green-coloured car, who may have been caught on CCTV leaving the scene. He calmly parked the vehicle and walked away.
It is not known whether he was an al Qaeda suicide bomber who lost his nerve, or if the device was timed to go off when it would cause maximum casualties when the street was crowded with people leaving the club.
Part of Park Lane was closed to traffic this afternoon after reports of a suspicious car in the Mount Street car park. Scotland Yard said a 200-yard cordon was in place which will affect Oxford Circus, Green Park and the Curzon Street areas. People were being evacuated from Hyde Park.
Haymarket was shut for most of the day. Sixteen bus routes which normally pass through the area were being diverted.
Anti-terrorist officers have long feared a suicide or car bomb attack on a crowded club or pub in the city but sources said there had been no intelligence on a specific attack.
It had also been feared that terrorists would mount an attack to coincide with Gordon Brown taking over as Prime Minister. Sources say the most likely suspects are extremists linked to al Qaeda.
In April five British Muslim men were jailed for life for plotting a wave of al Qaeda bomb attacks - one target was to be the Ministry of Sound nightclub in Southwark.
There are also similarities to another al Qaeda-inspired plot, masterminded by Dhiren Barot, who had drawn up plans for limousines packed with explosives to be detonated in London. He was jailed for 30 years.
Security was being raised around London to a level not seen since the 7/7 attacks. Next Saturday is the second anniversary of the London bombings.
Gordon Brown said today's attempt was a reminder that Britain faces "a serious and continuous security threat".
Dozens of forensic officers are poring over the crime scene, which has been covered by a blue plastic police tent
A massive police cordon has been thrown around The Haymarket in London's West End
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith urged the public to report anything suspicious to the police. Speaking in her first full day in the job, Ms Smith said the device could have caused "a considerable loss of life" and praised the explosives experts who defused it.
The head of the Met's Anti-Terrorist Branch, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, said the technology used in the Mercedes bomb was the same as that used by insurgents in Iraq.
He said: "The police were called and Metropolitan Police explosives officers went to the scene and examined the car. In the car they found significant quantities of petrol together with a number of gas cylinders.
"It is appropriate for me to pay tribute to the courage and skill of the explosives officers who manually disabled the device."
Scotland Yard said extra police patrols were taking place across London as a result.
A spokesman said: "This is to provide a visible reassurance and is not in response to any specific threat."
Ken Livingstone said: "Once again the emergency services have served the capital well.
"The Metropolitan Police Service have dealt with this with great professionalism. I think we would all want to thank the explosives officers for their bravery in dismantling this device, which will also yield invaluable clues.
The car, believed to be a silver Mercedes, was driven into bins and the driver ran off
"The ambulance crew who originally alerted the police to this matter showed great vigilance and they deserve the praise of everyone who lives and works in London.
"The dense network of CCTV coverage now existing in central London will again be extremely important in yielding clues.
"I ask all Londoners and visitors to London to co-operate with the police and other agencies so that we can go about our business as safely as possible.
"London can help defeat terrorism, which means that all London's communities have their part to play in dealing with this threat."
dailymail.co.uk
