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Red Alert Special Report: Four Blasts Confirmed in London
Security officials in London have confirmed four blasts (or attempted blasts) July 21 -- three in the Underground and one on a bus. The incidents come two weeks to the day after the July 7 London bombings that left 56 dead and more than 700 injured. They also come at a time when the London mass transit system is still at heightened security levels following the July 7 attacks.
At 12:38 p.m. local time, London's ambulance service responded to a call at The Oval station, located in southeast London in a fairly run-down area near a cricket ground. Witnesses report that a person with a backpack approached a train, threw the backpack on and fled as other passengers attempted to give chase. The backpack then gave off small explosions and noises that "sounded like champagne corks popping."
At 12:45 p.m. local time, emergency services responded to a call from Warren Street Station in Central London, close to businesses and upscale neighborhoods. Before the station was evacuated, passengers reported seeing smoke coming from one of the trains, and some reported seeing a backpack explode. The British Transport Police reported one injury at Warren Street but did not specify its nature; reports also indicate that police detonated suspicious items at the station as a precautionary measure. Some reports indicate a nail bomb exploded on the train.
The third incident happened at the Shepherd's Bush Station, in a west London commercial district. This incident was reportedly above ground. There were no reports of injuries at this incident.
The fourth incident was an explosion onboard a No. 26 route bus on Hackney Street near Bethnal Green station, just southwest of Victoria Park in north-central London. A bus driver reported no injuries; witnesses say windows were blown out of the bus after an explosion occurred on the upper floor of the double-decker.
The incidents bear a clear resemblance to the July 7 attacks -- they occurred on a Thursday, there were three attacks on the Underground and one on a bus, and the attacks were spread out yet nearly simultaneous. However, the differences are more striking.
The attacks on July 21 occurred at mid-day, not rush hour, minimizing the potential casualties. The bombs used were also apparently significantly smaller, perhaps fireworks and smoke bombs or pipe bombs. Thus far, only one injury has been reported.
The coordination and resemblance to July 7 does not appear to be accidental; neither do the smaller size of the bombs and the off-peak time of the explosions. This attack was aimed at a more psychological end -- to shatter confidence in the mass transit system and authorities' ability to provide security.
This does not appear to be an attack by either the Irish Republican Army or al Qaeda, given the size of the bombs, though it could have been a move by local al Qaeda sympathizers. London hosts a large pool of Islamist radicals who would be interested in riding on the fears created by the July 7 attacks. Though al Qaeda sticks to well-trained operants to carry out attacks, these independent radicals are ready and willing to become jihadists. This in turn works in favor of al Qaeda, which has continually striven to inspire its sympathizers to act on their own with motivation derived from "the base" -- the literal Arabic translation of "al Qaeda." In fact, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has proclaimed that the United States and the West would not enjoy security or peace of mind as long as those in the Muslim world do not. Such sparks of fear clearly follow a Quranic verse that tells of "striking terror in the hearts of the enemy" -- a verse frequently used in radical Islamist circles. This was likely the driving motivation for the copycat bombers, rather than the motivation (or capability) to kill.
The July 21 incidents in London demonstrate the vulnerabilities of and difficulties in securing public transportation systems. Furthermore, if these small bombs could be taken into exactly the same kinds of targets as the July 7 bombs, more serious incidents cannot be ruled out.
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