8 muslim migrant medicos in Jihad attacks with bomb-cars in UK

[madkins]

Police in central London.





BBC.-UK

Police avert car bomb 'carnage'

June 29, 2007

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 the early hours in Haymarket.

Police were alerted by an ambulance crew who saw smoke coming from the silver Mercedes, parked near the Tiger Tiger nightclub.

"International elements" are believed to be involved, the BBC has been told.

Police sources say it is quite possible the device failed to ignite - and might have been minutes away from exploding.

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 significant injury or loss of life."

The ambulance had been called to the nightclub to treat a sick man, when they saw smoke, now believed to be vapour, inside the car.

Bomb experts manually disabled the "potentially viable explosive device".

DAC Clarke said it was too early to say who was responsible but the incident "resonated" with previous terrorist plots.

"The threat from terrorism is real. It is here, enduring. Life must go on but we must remain alert," he said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat".

He added the public "need to be alert" at all times.

The prime minister's comments were echoed by the new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who has chaired a meeting of the government's emergency unit Cobra.

The BBC's Andy Tighe said the timing was significant coming a day after Mr Brown became prime minister, and with the second anniversary of the 7 July bombings approaching.

Earlier reports said bouncers from a nearby nightclub said they saw the car being driven erratically before it crashed into a bin. They said the driver then got out and ran off.

The police source said the bomb was a "big device" and posed a real and substantial threat to the area around Haymarket, which is in London's theatreland.

Dozens of forensic officers examined the scene and the car was removed for examination.

Scotland Yard said detectives from Counter Terrorism Command were investigating the potential bomb plot and will be checking the CCTV in the area.

Police are believed to have also carried out a search of other key areas in the capital shortly after the discovery of the car.

A spokesman said: "Police were called to reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in Haymarket, shortly before 2am this morning.

"As a precautionary measure the immediate area was cordoned off while the vehicle was examined by explosives officers.

"They discovered what appeared to be a potentially viable explosive device. This was made safe."

Police say Haymarket is likely to remain closed for some time and severe travel disruption is predicted.

Piccadilly Circus Tube station has reopened after being closed for some time.

The BBC's Daniela Relph, at the scene, said the heart of London was completely closed off and police officers were concentrating on keeping people away.

'No intelligence'

Professor Paul Wilkinson, a terrorism expert, said officers would be concerned they did not have prior intelligence.

The current terrorism threat level has been classed as severe - meaning an attack is highly likely - since 14 August 2006.

Intelligence sources said they were keeping an open mind on who was responsible for the car bomb.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said the incident had "come from nowhere" and that the driver of the car was now Britain's "most wanted".

He said CCTV was the key to finding the "first clue" as to who was behind the attempted bombing.

Skara Brae,

madkins

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Two Bombs Were Set To Blow In London

Police have confirmed that not one, but two massive car bombs were set to explode in the heart of London's West End.

The first car, in Haymarket, was a metallic green Mercedes packed with petrol, gas cannisters and nails, and was defused after police were alerted by an ambulance crew called to an incident at a nearby nightclub in the early hours of Friday morning.

The second was in a car that was illegally parked nearby and towed to the Park Lane car pound.

Staff there alerted police because "it smelled of gas."

That device has also been made safe and has been taken away for examination.

In a news conference Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said the second car, a blue Mercedes, was parked a few hundred yards from the first in Cockspur Street which runs between Haymarket and Trafalgar Square.

It was issued with a parking ticket at around 2:30am on Friday before being towed to the Park Lane car pound where staff alerted police.

DAC Clarke said: "The vehicle was found to contain very similar materials to the first vehicle in Haymarket.

"There was a considerable amount of fuel and gas cannisters, as in the first vehicle. There was also a substantial quantity of nails.

"This device, like the first was potentially viable and was made safe by explosives officers. The vehicles are clearly linked."

"The discovery of a second bomb is obviously troubling and reinforces the need for the public to remain vigilant."

He also asked anyone who may have seen the blue Mercedes parked in Cockspur Street to come forward.

Sky News sources say one of the first police officers on the scene of the Haymarket car bomb may have saved dozens of lives by defusing the explosives before the bomb squad arrived.

It is believed the quick-thinking cop recognised that the car was wired to blow up, jumped in and disconnected the trigger device, thought to be a mobile phone.

The device, which contained 60 litres of petrol, a large amount of nails and several gas canisters, was found in the Mercedes early this morning.

Police had received reports of a suspicious vehicle close to the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Piccadilly shortly before 2am on Friday morning.

An ambulance crew, who treated a person in the club in an unrelated incident, reported that there was smoke inside the car.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the UK is "currently facing the most serious and sustained threat" and authorities are doing everything they can to protect the public.

Police believe they have foiled a major terror attack and said if the Haymarket bomb had gone off it could have caused "significant injury or loss of life".

The timing coincided with hundreds of revellers leaving nightspots, but police said there was no intelligence to suggest such an attack.

The area was cordoned off by officers who examined the metallic green car, outside an American Express foreign exchange, and then discovered the device.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, paid tribute to those who manually defused it, saying they had not only saved lives but gave forensic officers the opportunity to gather a substantial amount of material.

Officers have appealed for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious in the Haymarket area. The number is 0800 789 321.

Extra police patrols are taking place across London following the incident.

Whitehall sources said that the police and security services are looking at possible international links - including similarities to car bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.

Mr Brown said the incident reminds us that Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the public "need to be alert" at all times.

The Haymarket is in the heart of London's theatreland, which is packed with thousands of people through most of the day and night.

Detectives are looking at CCTV footage from the area surrounding the Haymarket and interviewing witnesses, including staff from bars and nightclubs.

Congestion charge cameras, which recognise number plates and run 24 hours a day, will be able to track the route of the vehicle into the capital.

Former head of the Flying Squad John O'Connor said the attacker had most probably "bottled it" and was likely to be a homegrown terrorist.

The Home Secretary chaired an emergency Cobra meeting about the terror scare and then briefed the Cabinet.

Enhanced security measures have been put in place at the Houses of Westminster in the wake of the incident.

The discovery of the car bomb comes just under two years since suicide attacks killed 52 people in the capital.

Another 784 were injured when four bombs exploded on London's transport network on July 7, 2005.

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The outisde of the terminal building in flames after this afternoon's explosion

Blazing jeep crashes into British airport

A blazing car crashed into the terminal building in Glasgow Airport today in what is thought to be a terror attack.

Eyewitness said two Asian men drove a Jeep Cherokee at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath at 3.15pm this afternoon.

The two men - one believed to be on fire - staggered out of the jeep and became involved in a fight with passers-by and police, according to witnesses.

[Davy of old England]

A car on fire has been driven at the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport.




Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.

They have also described seeing two Asian men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.

Strathclyde Police said two people have been arrested and detained in connection with the incident.

The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident at 1515 BST.

A Whitehall spokesman said the incident was not being treated as a national security threat however the prime minister is being kept informed of developments and is expected to chair a meeting of Cobra - the emergency committee later.

First Minister Alex Salmond has activated emergency procedures.

There have been reports that part of the Royal Alexandra Hospital is being evacuated.

The incident comes a day after two cars were found containing explosives in central London.

The cars contained petrol, gas cylinders and nails but the devices did not detonate.

One eyewitness at Glasgow Airport said: "I heard the sound of a car's wheels spinning and smoke coming out.

"I saw a Jeep Cherokee apparently as if it was trying to get right through the doors into the terminal building.

"There were flames coming out from underneath then some men appeared from in amongst the flames.

"The police ran over and the people started fighting with the police. I then heard what sounded like an explosion."

Molotov cocktails

Eye-witness Richard Gray told BBC News 24: "A green Jeep was in the middle of the doorway burning.

"There was an Asian guy who was pulled out of the car by two police officers, who he was trying to fight off. They've got him on the ground.

"The car didn't actually explode. There were a few pops and bangs which presumably was the petrol."

Stephen Clarkson said he helped police restrain one of the men.

The car ablaze at Glasgow airport
Witnesses said the car was driven at the building deliberately

"I managed to knock the fellow to the ground," he said.

"By this time there were four policemen who got on top of him and restrained him.


His clothes had partially burned from his body. His hair was on fire.

Thomas Conroy, a maintenance worker at the airport believes the men deliberately tried to set the car on fire.

"It looked like they had Molotov cocktails with them," he said.

"They sort of burst them round about the flames to make sure the car would go up big style.

Link

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UK terror threat now 'critical'

The UK's national terrorism threat level has been raised to "critical" after attacks in Glasgow and London.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the public to be vigilant and added: "I know the British people will stand together, united and resolute."

The announcement came after a meeting of the government emergencies committee Cobra, following a burning car being driven into a Glasgow airport terminal.

[William of the White Hand]

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Bomber: An off duty policeman sprays water at a burning bomber who tried to ignite explosives at Glasgow Airport

Four arrested over car bomb terror attacks

Four people have been arrested as Britain moved to its highest state of terror alert after three failed car bombings.

Police are linking an attempt to ram a flaming Jeep Cherokee into Glasgow Airport yesterday to the discovery of two car bombs in London's West End on Friday.

Two men inside the Jeep were arrested at the airport, although one of them suffered severe burns after being engulfed in flames and is now in a critical condition in hospital.

Anti-terror officers from the Met and West Midlands Police later arrested a further two people on a motorway near Cheshire in connection with all the attacks, Scotland Yard said.

Police are now searching houses to the west of Glasgow.

Police wore white overalls as they searched a number of houses about six miles to the west of Glasgow, in the town of Houston.

"We can confirm that, as part of the ongoing enquiry into the incidents at Glasgow airport and London, a number of houses in the Renfrewshire area are being searched," police said.

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Two Terror Suspects Are Hospital Doctors

Two of the five terror suspects being held in the wake of the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow are hospital doctors working in the UK.

The majority of the five terror suspects being held in police custody in connection with bomb attacks in London and Glasgow are not British and at least one is still at large, according to Sky sources.

Sky sources believe one of the men arrested at Glasgow airport and a 26-year-old man arrested on the M6 with a 27-year-old woman in Cheshire are both doctors.

Sky Crime Reporter Martin Brunt said: "This is very far removed from the picture we normally have. These are professional people with highly paid jobs who are intent on killing people."

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Swoop ... cops grapple with fanatic
burned in attack

Nicked: Doc and wife in a burka

THE suspected ringleader of a plot to unleash a blitz of car bombs on Britain is an Iranian doctor arrested with his burka-clad wife.

Neurologist Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, and his wife, 27, were dramatically held as they drove on the M6 in Cheshire with their two-year-old son.

Five people were being quizzed — at least two of them medics — as it became clear the attacks in London and Glasgow were by the same gang.

ources said one of two men held while trying to smash a blazing vehicle into a Glasgow Airport terminal on Saturday afternoon is also a doctor, from Iraq.

Security bosses believe the two men in Glasgow also drove two Mercedes cars laden with petrol and gas canisters used in a failed bid to devastate London’s West End early on Friday.

The Ashas were arrested by officers from a West Midlands counter-terrorism unit at 9.17pm on Saturday.
It is thought the car they were driving flashed up on a number plate recognition camera, which alerted cops to their whereabouts.

Dr Asha and his wife were forced to a stop when their car was boxed in by police in the northbound carriageway near Sandbach, Cheshire.

Their home 12 miles away in a cul-de-sac in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffs, was being searched by forensic officers yesterday.

Dr Asha has just started a job at the North Staffordshire Hospital in nearby Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.

But it is feared he may also be the head of an al-Qaeda cell. Anti-terror cops also carried out a search of his locker at the hospital.

A security source said: “It is shocking that a doctor, of all people, could be arrested over an attempt to kill and maim hundreds of people.”

Yesterday neighbours of the doctor said he and his wife had hardly any visitors during their year in the house. But in the past two weeks two Asian men with long beards had turned up in a car on several occasions and stayed the night.

Dr Asha has rented the smart property for the past 12 months from landlord Wendy Weaver, 53.

She let the house after emigrating to Dubai and left her son Simon Plant, 33, who lives round the corner, to help service the property.

Lift engineer Simon said: “Dr Asha dressed in Muslim style, with a flat woollen hat, and he sports a beard.

“His wife always wore a burka. He was paying £500-a-month rent and was in many ways the ideal tenant.

“There were lots of medical books lying around. My mum says the doctor had contacted her and said he intended leaving in July.”

Dr Asha and his wife, who is thought to be from the Middle East, were driven to London’s Paddington Green police station, along with a suspect arrested in Liverpool and one of the men arrested at Glasgow airport.

Just curious, but since they survived, does this mean there will be no 72 virgins waiting for these ragheads?

P.S.- Awesome photo, Hopefully this POS will have months, if not years, of the most pain filled and gut-wrenching rehab imaginable.