Sources: July 7 London Bomb Plot May Have Been Much Larger

ABC News ^ | July 28, 2005

[Irontank]

The plot for the July 7 transit bombings in London, which killed 56 people, may have been much larger than previously known, ABC News has learned.

Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News an additional 12 bombs and four improvised detonators were found in the trunk of a car believed to be rented by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer. Police believe the bombers drove the car to Luton, where they boarded trains to London.

"I believe that the explosives left in that car were left there for a second strike," said Bob Ayers, a London-based terrorism consultant with expertise in demolition. "But the Metropolitan Police responded so quickly, they were able to get to the car and take control of the car before the second team could get the explosives and leave."

ABC News obtained exclusive photographs, which show the devastation left inside the London subway lines after the July 7 attacks.

"There is considerable damage there," said Ayers, who analyzed the photographs. "You can see it's blown out the walls, it's blown out the sides, it's blown the roof. That was a good size bomb that that man took down there and set off."

ABC News also obtained photographs, which offer a first glimpse of the bombs used in the attacks.

The bombs were made of homemade high explosives. The materials used are widely available products, such as peroxide. Some were packaged like pancakes, and others contained nails for use as shrapnel. An X-ray image of one of the bombs found in the attacker's car trunk shows the deadly concoction.

"When you put the X-ray machine on it [the bomb], you see what is bulging on the sides of the bottle are nails -- many, many nails," said Ayers, while examining the photo. "And the nails are put there so that when the bomb goes off, the nails will tear tissue and kill people in the area. Bombs don't kill by concussion. Small bombs, they kill by the blast effects of fragments of glass or metal, and this is designed to kill people."

British authorities are deeply concerned they are in a race against time against people who want to plan another attack.

[Irontank]

British authorities are deeply concerned they are in a race against time against people who want to plan another attack

I fear that the British will simply not have enough time now to neutralize the effects of 40 years of multiculturalism...of inviting and tolerating hordes of Third World immigrants from alien cultures that despise the West

[Empire_of_Liberty]

So, they were planning on returning to the car?

Or did they just get all caught up in the fun and excitement of bomb-making?

[Sacajaweau]

From the looks of the bomb display, they were going to change tactics. Those "pancakes" might be for under light jackets...flat to their chest....or to place under tracks..and detonate by remote....Spanish style.

[jim_trent]

I'd say that this is a strong indication that they "suicide" bombers did not intend to suicide. The dopes were dupes.

[gov_bean_ counter]

The materials used are widely available products, such as peroxide.

Dual use ping.

[WoofDog123]

""I believe that the explosives left in that car were left there for a second strike," said Bob Ayers, a London-based terrorism consultant with expertise in demolition. "But the Metropolitan Police responded so quickly, they were able to get to the car and take control of the car before the second team could get the explosives and leave.""

It is hard to underestimate how quickly the UK can track down this stuff in urban areas, given that so much of public movement is recorded. Of course, the downside is that such a system has many uses, not just tracking terrorist movements.

[Capriole]

Stop and think about it. The British estimate that they have 1.6 million Muslims in the UK; the Muzzies themselves estimate 3 million, which is a more likely figure. We have something like 2 million in a land that is many times the size of the UK. How much more serious and problematic their situation is than ours! I feel sorry for them. It is due to the good-heartedness and honest naivete of the British people that so many Muslims from former colonies were let in to the UK. Now they may be past the tipping point and may be facing another civil war, even more horrible than the last one was for England.