Hunt for al-Qa'ida cell as bombs found in London
Saturday June 30 2007
A HUGE manhunt was going on last night for a group of suspected al-Qa'ida terrorists after two car bombs were planted in the West End of London.
The first, a Mercedes filled with petrol cans, gas canisters, and nails, was primed to explode as hundreds of revellers poured out of a nightclub.
The second, another Mercedes, was dumped in the area and its deadly cargo discovered by parking wardens who had towed it - unwittingly - to a car pound. They became suspicious of a strong smell of petrol or gas.
The attempted bombings prompted fears of a new summer campaign by extremists.
The nightclub bomb, outside Tiger Tiger, on Haymarket, was equipped with a "relatively sophisticated" remote-control detonator, to be set off by a mobile phone timer.
It was so powerful that it could have claimed more than 100 lives, police sources said, making it potentially Britain's worst terrorist atrocity.
Bomb disposal specialists defused the device manually but hours later were called to examine the second vehicle, in the Park Lane car park.
Hyde Park, which is adjacent, was evacuated by police, although it was not immediately clear what sort of bomb was involved.
Police were searching for the drivers of both cars amid fears the suspected terrorist may be part of an organised cell of extremist Muslims - which typically number up to five people. There was also widespread concern that other devices may have been planted, although police said they had no intelligence to confirm that.
TERROR IN LONDON:
- Duncan Gardham
