Posted June 29, 200718 yr From Sky News: Major Terror Attack Foiled In London Updated: 11:04, Friday June 29, 2007 Police believe they have foiled a major terrorist attack in the heart of London's West End after a "massive" explosive device was found in a car. Eyewitnesses said a man crashed the vehicle into bins near a nightclub early this morning and then ran off. The incident was in Piccadilly, near the Regent Street shopping area, and security sources say it could have been timed to coincide with Gordon Brown's first day as Prime Minister. A member of the public alerted police to the suspicious vehicle in The Haymarket shortly before 2am. The area was cordoned off by officers who examined the car, outside an American Express foreign exchange. They discovered what appeared to be a potentially explosive device, which was then made safe by specialist teams. The vehicle was a metallic green Mercedes which also contained two propane gas canisters and a large number of nails. The back door of the car was said to be open when it was discovered near the Tiger Tiger nightclub. 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. The area is packed with thousands of people through most of the day and night. An investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The suspect vehicle has been removed from the scene for detailed forensic examinations. Sky's Tim Marshall said: "Sources say security services are working on the theory that the timing is because Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. This is day one. "If this is true, and I stress this is just a theory, it goes on to say the message is that although you have a new prime minister, the terror continues." Marshall said the target was probably civilians because there are no major political institutions in the area. 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. Authorities are warning of major traffic disruption in the area, with several roads shut. Piccadilly Circus Tube station is open but restrictions are in place. New Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is chairing a Cobra meeting about the terror scare and will then report to 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.
June 29, 200718 yr Very bizarre Why would Al Qaeda strike at 2-3am when the streets are virtually empty when if they struck at 9am they could have killed thousands I sense an inside job here, a deliberate bungled attempt by the security services so that Brown can look like a strong leader and impose new privacy laws in the name of combatting terrorism Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing
June 29, 200718 yr Author They're saying there could've been a time bomb in there, ready to strike in the morning.
June 29, 200718 yr They're saying there could've been a time bomb in there, ready to strike in the morning. A car abandoned in a London street for 7 hours in Central London would draw MASSIVE suspicion, they might as well drape the car in a tarpaulin with the writing in big letters "this is a car bomb" on it, in the current heightended state of alert there is no way a car parked for ages in Central London would not draw massive suspicion Islamic extremists assuming they are the prime suspects organise things incredibly well and for a long time, they would not make such levels of incompetence as to abandon a car in central london for 7 hours
June 29, 200718 yr Very bizarre Why would Al Qaeda strike at 2-3am when the streets are virtually empty when if they struck at 9am they could have killed thousands I sense an inside job here, a deliberate bungled attempt by the security services so that Brown can look like a strong leader and impose new privacy laws in the name of combatting terrorism Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing my thoughts exactly, and I see now it was a LARGE bomb. If it was Al Qaeda they wouldn't exactly park up and walk away, they'd god forbid, drive into a big crowd of people and detonate it. Unless the Real IRA has suddenly awoken from a slumber, then the inside job theory seems to hold the most water to make Brown look almighty because he stopped an "attack"
June 29, 200718 yr Very bizarre Why would Al Qaeda strike at 2-3am when the streets are virtually empty when if they struck at 9am they could have killed thousands I sense an inside job here, a deliberate bungled attempt by the security services so that Brown can look like a strong leader and impose new privacy laws in the name of combatting terrorism Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing With you on this one Craig... Am I reading this correctly....? The bloke crashed the car into bins (presumably attracting the attention of just about everyone who was passing by and would probably alert the cops anyway to an RTA...) and then running off and abandoning the vehicle in the middle of an area with literally HUNDREDS of CCTV cameras.... Doesn't smell right, at all tbh.... Time bomb set to go off in morning rush hour or not, the car would've been towed away (and was towed away :lol: ) hours before..... Neither Al Qaeda nor the Real IRA have ever shown this level of sheer incompetency, they have always been ruthlessly efficient and effective.... This is the job of either rank amateurs or, as you say, a ploy by security forces and the Govt... No one was actually in any danger IMO.....
June 29, 200718 yr The 2002 terrorist attacks in Bali involved a car bomb exploding at night in an leisure/nightlife district. Granted the driver didn't run away but still. This isn't entirely unprecedented. Certainly does look like the work of amateurs, though. I'm afraid that's the point at which foreign policy has officially failed. Terrorist attacks are no longer exclusive to sophisticated, highly-trained and likely brainwashed al-Qaida operatives...
June 29, 200718 yr oh per-leeze... conspiracy theories are all well and good but lets have some COMMON SENSE here... as if the security forces would stage that! pmsl.
June 29, 200718 yr oh per-leeze... conspiracy theories are all well and good but lets have some COMMON SENSE here... as if the security forces would stage that! pmsl. Al Qaeda and their splinter groups regardless of what anyone thinks of them are incredibly professional organisations, they plan everything down to the very remotest detail, this was carried out with Mr Bean type incompetence so it looks like you can rule out muslim extremists, the IRA have no quarrel with us atm so who do you think was behind this Rob ? This bomb was never meant to go off it seems quite obvious to me, it is purely an attempt to scare people and make people trust their government
June 29, 200718 yr how conevnient a 2nd vehicle has been deemed suspicious now -_- to close off another part of London -_-
June 29, 200718 yr Al Qaeda and their splinter groups regardless of what anyone thinks of them are incredibly professional organisations, they plan everything down to the very remotest detail, this was carried out with Mr Bean type incompetence so it looks like you can rule out muslim extremists, the IRA have no quarrel with us atm so who do you think was behind this Rob ? This bomb was never meant to go off it seems quite obvious to me, it is purely an attempt to scare people and make people trust their government get real.... it was botched so it MUST be the security forces... id suggest that the security forces are just as capeable if not more so then al queda in planting bombs... to me it SMACKS of a lone group of inexperienced terrorists whos sympathies are with al qaeda, but who have little or no contact with them. they are 'wannabes'. never meant to go off?.... how do you equate that?.. smoldering incendary device in a car full of petrol?... lol... NO ONE could judge that one.
June 29, 200718 yr get real.... it was botched so it MUST be the security forces... id suggest that the security forces are just as capeable if not more so then al queda in planting bombs... to me it SMACKS of a lone group of inexperienced terrorists whos sympathies are with al qaeda, but who have little or no contact with them. they are 'wannabes'. never meant to go off?.... how do you equate that?.. smoldering incendary device in a car full of petrol?... lol... NO ONE could judge that one. Yes they are but what better way to create a scare situation than bungle a bombing campaign ? This is more like Mr Bean than Bin Laden, anyone who knows the slightest thing about London would know that Haymarket at 2am is relatively quiet on a Thursday night and that a car being parked there would be towed away before the owner could blink so if it was terrorists they made complete t*ts of themselves, wrong location and no understanding of London which makes me think that this was done to scare as opposed to create huge loss of life, even wanabee's would at least do SOME research and planning ? They spend all that money on a Merc, on nails, on gas canisters but don't research London or its traffic management network ??? hmmmmm
June 29, 200718 yr Supposidly an area od my town centre was shut off today because they thought there was a car bomb or something :s
June 29, 200718 yr Yes they are but what better way to create a scare situation than bungle a bombing campaign ? This is more like Mr Bean than Bin Laden, anyone who knows the slightest thing about London would know that Haymarket at 2am is relatively quiet on a Thursday night and that a car being parked there would be towed away before the owner could blink so if it was terrorists they made complete t*ts of themselves, wrong location and no understanding of London which makes me think that this was done to scare as opposed to create huge loss of life, even wanabee's would at least do SOME research and planning ? They spend all that money on a Merc, on nails, on gas canisters but don't research London or its traffic management network ??? hmmmmm There IS actually another possibility... Experienced bombers set up the device, then before they can actually deliver it, car gets nicked by joyriders totally by chance (could happen, let's face it, a Merc in certain parts of London aint gonna last long on the streets...), joyriders realise they're in a car with an explosive device due to detonate god knows when, panic, crash the car and just bolt....
June 29, 200718 yr Yes they are but what better way to create a scare situation than bungle a bombing campaign ? This is more like Mr Bean than Bin Laden, anyone who knows the slightest thing about London would know that Haymarket at 2am is relatively quiet on a Thursday night and that a car being parked there would be towed away before the owner could blink so if it was terrorists they made complete t*ts of themselves, wrong location and no understanding of London which makes me think that this was done to scare as opposed to create huge loss of life, even wanabee's would at least do SOME research and planning ? They spend all that money on a Merc, on nails, on gas canisters but don't research London or its traffic management network ??? hmmmmm but you cant do that with a car full of gas and petrol! theres virtualy NO control over it and as there was smoke then there was fire.... if it was a set up by the security forces they wouldnt take such a risk, but would 'find' a car packed with inert explosives that really did have no chance of going off. spend money on a merc?... :lol: as if!!! it was nicked! it was targeting a nightclub, full of 'prostitutes and whores', extremist views on teenage/young women who like to drink and dance at a nightclub. this was a botched attempt of fame by some inexperienced young extremist group of probable muslims.
June 29, 200718 yr There IS actually another possibility... Experienced bombers set up the device, then before they can actually deliver it, car gets nicked by joyriders totally by chance (could happen, let's face it, a Merc in certain parts of London aint gonna last long on the streets...), joyriders realise they're in a car with an explosive device due to detonate god knows when, panic, crash the car and just bolt.... pmsl..... im surprised at you scott, lets have some rational thought here.
June 30, 200718 yr but you cant do that with a car full of gas and petrol! theres virtualy NO control over it and as there was smoke then there was fire.... if it was a set up by the security forces they wouldnt take such a risk, but would 'find' a car packed with inert explosives that really did have no chance of going off. spend money on a merc?... :lol: as if!!! it was nicked! it was targeting a nightclub, full of 'prostitutes and whores', extremist views on teenage/young women who like to drink and dance at a nightclub. this was a botched attempt of fame by some inexperienced young extremist group of probable muslims. Spot on. The only thing that I wonder about this, is whether this was a deliberate failure by whichever militant Muslim extremist cell, designed to be a warning to the "New" Labour government on the first full day under Gordon Brown's control. Maybe next time they wont fail. Personally, I find it incredible that most of you are suggesting this is a deliberate set up by the Labour Government. Especially when all sides of the media are not in doubt that this was a genuine terror alert. Although many are wondering (like me) that this was designed as a warning rather than a failed attempt.
June 30, 200718 yr Spot on. The only thing that I wonder about this, is whether this was a deliberate failure by whichever militant Muslim extremist cell, designed to be a warning to the "New" Labour government on the first full day under Gordon Brown's control. Maybe next time they wont fail. Personally, I find it incredible that most of you are suggesting this is a deliberate set up by the Labour Government. Especially when all sides of the media are not in doubt that this was a genuine terror alert. Although many are wondering (like me) that this was designed as a warning rather than a failed attempt. For a start, Muslim Extremists don't do "warnings", that is just complete nonsense.... In the second place, it was not a suicide bombing, surely a better method of ensuring the car would actually detonate would have been for the driver to plough straight into the club at high speed. Instead, the driver seems to have parked the car and run off, more proof to me that this is not an extremist Islamic terror cell.... The bomb was supposed to have been detonated via a mobile phone, about the only thing that would stop that would be a lack of actual signal, again, very unlikely in the centre of London.... No, this just doesn't smell right... For an extremist group to go to all this trouble and then not actually go through with it (not to mention leaving all that nice, intact forensic evidence lying around for the Police) ....? Come on, that just doesn't scan at all.....
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