Attacks kill 33 in
By Mike Collett-White and Trevor Datson
39 minutes ago
"We are treating this as a terrorist incident," said Brian Paddick, deputy assistant commissioner of
Witnesses saw the top ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square close to King's Cross train terminal, and three more apparently coordinated explosions caused carnage on packed subway trains as Londoners made their way to work.
"I was on the bus," said one dazed passenger. "I looked round and the seats behind me were gone."
"You could see bodies on the road outside," said another eyewitness, Peter Gordon. "There was smoke everywhere. It was carnage."
Paddick said seven people were killed on an underground train near Moorgate station, 21 were confirmed dead near
An unknown number of people were also killed in the bus.
"We are clearly shocked but we are not surprised by what has happened," he told reporters, adding that police had received no warning prior to the attacks.
President Bush, speaking at the G8 summit, told reporters that "the war on terror goes on."
"We will not yield to these terrorists, we will find them, we will bring them to justice," he said.
A previously unknown group, "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in
Financial markets tumbled as the scale of the attacks became clear and Blair returned to
The attacks recalled the 2004 train bombings in
They came just a day after a jubilant
"I'm deeply saddened that this should happen at the heart of an Olympic city. Unfortunately there
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in
DEAD AND WOUNDED
The carnage began at around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) with the first blast and ended an hour and three more explosions later.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone, speaking in
"I wish to speak to you directly -- to those who came to
People were seen streaming out of underground stations covered with blood and soot. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.
Security experts said the blasts bore all the hallmarks of al Qaeda, and appeared to target the G8 summit.
"We would put al Qaeda at the top of the list of any suspects," said Alex Standish, editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest. "They have the motives, the means and the opportunity.
"Here you have a massive headline event which involves the three world leaders that al Qaeda detests -- Bush, Blair and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."
The city's streets rapidly emptied and financial markets plummeted as it became increasingly apparent that the blasts were an attack, and not a power surge on the underground train system as had first been reported.
On the currency market, the safe-haven Swiss franc hit a six-week high against sterling and rose more than 1 percent against the dollar following the explosions.
"The market is showing a textbook reaction, buying safe-haven currencies like the Swiss franc and euro and away from the dollar," said Marios Maratheftis, currency strategist at Standard Chartered.
Oil prices initially fell more than five percent before recovering and
