Car bomb found in London, Defused

[Louis VI the Fat]

Link

A car bomb was today defused in central London after a car was crashed into bins before the driver ran off.
A member of the public alerted Scotland Yard to the vehicle. The bomb, believed to be a crudely-made, propane gas-based device, was made safe.

Specialist teams of bomb disposal officers were sent to Haymarket, near Piccadilly, following the report that a car had been abandoned on the road just after 2am. Haymarket was closed off while the experts examined the car, causing major disruption to rush-hour commuters.

According to some witnesses, the light metallic green Mercedes saloon was driven erratically and crashed into bins near a nightclub. The driver was then seen running away.

During an initial investigation of the vehicle, officers found a potentially viable device. It was made safe three hours later.

Police are now frantically searching landmark sites across the capital for further explosive devices. They were not sure whether the bomb was a lone device or one of several deployed across London.

A police source said they did not know as yet who was responsible. No warnings were received.

Nice.

My gut instinct tells me its not an Islamicist inspired car bomb. It doesn't reek like it. I certainly hope so, or London could be in for a rough day again. I don't see it being related to the Brown take-over or N-Ireland, neither makes sense.

So is it an isolated incident? Somebody looking for revenge on a nightclub? Has terrorism become a part of our social fabric? Is it now the first course of action that springs to mind for those wanting to take out their frustration on others?

I hope London will be safe today.

[InsaneApache]

I bet it was Cheries doing.

[Fragony]

According to some witnesses, the light metallic green Mercedes saloon was driven erratically and crashed into bins near a nightclub. The driver was then seen running away.



Must...resist..western......temptations...............

Well London, have a nice day

[macsen rufus]

It was probably just a gas welder driving home sloshed....

And typical eye-witness reliability - since this morning the car was moving and parked, green and silver. Meh. A bit too early for conclusions yet...

[Papewaio]

Any bets that someone converted their car to use LPG and it leaked?

[InsaneApache]

I'll take that bet.

It had nails strapped to the side of the gas cannister. Prolly just a coincidence.

[FactionHeir]

A good measure to ward off people trying to steal them

Too early to tell what's really going on anyway. Wasn't serious enough to close any tube stations.

[Papewaio]

I'll take that bet.

It had nails strapped to the side of the gas cannister. Prolly just a coincidence.

So he was a carpenter then?

I wonder if he was wearing a big bulky jacket when he scampered off...

[Husar]

I wonder if he was wearing a big bulky jacket when he scampered off...

I wonder whether he had Nike shoes to run faster.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Apparently someone wanted to start off Gordo's tenure with a bang.

Quite fortunate that it was nipped in the bud. Good work by the authorities.

[ShadesPanther]

I think it's more than a coincidence that it happened on Brown's first full day in office.
Although it could be for whatever "cause" related to it.

[Husar]

Actually reminds me of those bombs in german trains some months ago. They seemed to have a similar design(well, a canister with explosive liquid/gas inside) and also didn't work.

[Lorenzo_H]

Scary stuff. I was in London only 2 days ago. Right now I am in West Palm Beach Florida. Tis cool.

[Fragony]

Breaking news!

Looks like al Goata is in it, the limousine scheme.

[Fragony]

ps I call bull, they may have beards but they aren't stupid. Doubt a muslim in a expensive car like a limo would be considered low-profile.

[Fragony]

Breaking news!

Another beardski caught at Park Lane. Don't these people have jobs? Would be a bit cautious if I were you my London friends, if you see a limo before a building call the cops.

Hmmm, where is EA?

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Bloody hell, it was outside Tiger Tiger on Haymarket. I've been there several times of a night out.

Scary.

[Fragony]

Been in Kings Cross many time, the chance of being blown up in a terrorist attack is about as big as getting struck by ligh

[Louis VI the Fat]

Oi, judging by the latest reports, it appears that a serious carnage has been narrowly averted. Now it does look like the work of AQ or an AQ-inspired group.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Police avert car bomb 'carnage'

A car bomb planted in central London would have caused "carnage" if it had exploded, police sources have said.
A controlled explosion was carried out on the car, packed with 60 litres of petrol, gas cylinders and nails, in Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus.


"International elements" are believed to be involved with the Haymarket bomb, Whitehall sources told the BBC.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, said: "It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been serious injury or loss of life."

The ambulance had been called to the nightclub - where up to 1,700 people were inside - when they spotted smoke, now believed to be vapour, inside the car.


The car bomb has echoes of other terrorist plots. Five men were jailed for life in April for a UK bomb plot linked to al-Qaeda that targeted a shopping centre and a nightclub with a giant fertiliser bomb.

And Dhiren Barot was jailed for life last November for conspiring to park limousines packed with gas canisters underneath high-profile buildings before detonating them.

DAC Clarke told a press conference that it was too early to say who was responsible but the incident "resonated" with previous terrorist plots.


A police source said the bomb was a "big device" and had posed a real and substantial threat to the hundreds of revellers leaving the area's bars and nightclubs.

If it is indeed the work of a terrorist group, the timing seems likely be related to Gordon Brown taking office.

BBC link. Like the previous link, this one will probably change change to reflect new developments.


And another suspicious vehicle is under investigation as we speak:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Later part of London's Park Lane was closed to traffic after reports of a suspicious vehicle.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said that Park Lane was closed at Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner and a 200m cordon put in place.

The spokeswoman said it would also affect part of Oxford Street. People were being asked to leave the street but were not initially being evacuated from buildings in the area, said the spokeswoman.

Sources close to the investigation said that the Park Lane closure is linked to the discovery of a vehicle at an underground car park.

It is also believed to be linked to the investigation into the Haymarket car bomb.

At the moment it is not known if the vehicle at Park Lane contains a device.

[econ21]

ps I call bull, they may have beards but they aren't stupid. Doubt a muslim in a expensive car like a limo would be considered low-profile.

I am not sure of your reasoning here - I'd be inclined to say the opposite.

Didn't the 9/11 hijackers fly business class?

More mundanely, the Rough Guide to some dodgy countries advises economy travellers to wear a smart clothes and put down a fancy hotel when trying to get through immigration officials.

I suspect money (or the appearance of it) overcomes a lot of prejudice and suspicion.

[English assassin]

Hmmm, where is EA?

Just back from court, thank you for your concern.

Someone is always trying to blow up something in London. It's rather dull.

[Fragony]

I am not sure of your reasoning here - I'd be inclined to say the opposite.

Didn't the 9/11 hijackers fly business class?

More mundanely, the Rough Guide to some dodgy countries advises economy travellers to wear a smart clothes and put down a fancy hotel when trying to get through immigration officials.

I suspect money (or the appearance of it) overcomes a lot of prejudice and suspicion.

Didn't really think it over. When I was still at school and skipped a lesson I would always had the most outragious excuse, and if they called bull I said that if it was an excuse I could have thinked up a better one. It worked. Besides, London is full of expensive cars. But, it just all seems a bit amateuristic, and I am not sure how this could have outdone previous attacks, cheap bombs, looks like homegrown.

[Fragony]

Just back from court, thank you for your concern.

Phew, I was afraid you radicalised.

[doc_bean]

Didn't really think it over. When I was still at school and skipped a lesson I would always had the most outragious excuse, and if they called bull I said that if it was an excuse I could have thinked up a better one. It worked. Besides, London is full of expensive cars. But, it just all seems a bit amateuristic, and I am not sure how this could have outdone previous attacks, cheap bombs, looks like homegrown.

probably, Al Quaida as a true hierarchical organisation is mostly a myth now, it's a name a lot of different groups use who get their inspiration from Osama.

Sad that these things happen though.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Two car bombs found in London

· Police: attempt to kill was al-Qaida or its supporters

Scotland Yard confirmed tonight that a second car bomb had been found in central London close to the first car bomb that was discovered outside a packed nightclub in the early hours.
Senior police and Whitehall sources said that the failed attempt to inflict mass murder in the capital was the work of al-Qaida or those inspired by its ideology.

"You only have to read past cases of those convicted for terrorism to realise they have been plotting to blow up nightclubs and putting gas cylinder bombs in cars," one senior source said.

Counter-terrorism sources said the devices found in two Mercedes cars - which contained gas cylinders, petrol and nails - were similar to car bombs used in Iraq.

If there was any doubt, it now seems certain that there was a concerted effort to wreak havoc of an immense scale last night. Imagine the carnage that could've resulted.

Thank God it appears to have been the work of a bunch of amateurs.

[HoreTore]

This situation reminds me a lot of a bomb in the city where I live, Drammen. It was place by one biker gang trying to blow up another biker gang's headquarters.

Although that one went off and destroyed quite a few buildings... The shock waves woke me up, even though I'm about 10 km away....

[King Henry V]

I'm not usually one to go in for conspiracy theories, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this had been organised by Brown in order to give his opinion polls a boost at the beginning of his reign. I mean come on, what idiot terrorist parks his car bomb illegally?

[Devastatin Dave]

Its just Islam trying to give you toothless Brits some religion of peace lovin'!!! Good luck with your "youths" over there!!!

[Tribesman]

yes Dave keep up the good work , you might make sense some day if you really try .

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Actually reminds me of those bombs in german trains some months ago. They seemed to have a similar design(well, a canister with explosive liquid/gas inside) and also didn't work.

No idea what I was up to, but I didn't hear about that. Do you have a link?