The head of London’s anti-terrorism police, Peter Clarke, said investigators discovered the bomb in the second vehicle, parked illegally, which was was towed to an impound lot near Hyde Park. Police discovered it contained fuel canisters and nails.
Clarke said the discovery appeared linked to the first car bomb, a device containing 60 liters of petrol, a large amount of nails and several gas canisters, which wa found in a Mercedes car parked outside the crowded Tiger Tiger nightclub, near London’s Piccadilly Circus.
The club can accommodate up to 2,000 people, according to its website, and an explosion could have injured and killed many people, experts suggested.
The bomb was reportedly found after an ambulance crew, called to deal with a sick woman at the nightclub saw what they thought was smoke inside the Mercedes parked outside.
AREA CLOSED
Soon, the area was cordoned off by officers who examined the metallic green car, and then discovered the device. Clarke said those who manually defused it had not only saved lives but gave forensic officers the opportunity to gather a substantial amount of material.
An eyewitness was quoted as saying by media that a man had crashed the vehicle into bins near Tiger Tiger and then ran off. The discovery of the bomb came as the first major challenge for new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who chaired an emergency security meeting, just two days after taking office.
"The first duty of a government is the security of the people and as the police and security services have said on so many occasions, we face a serious and continued security threat to our country," he said. "We should allow the police to investigate this incident and then report to us. But this incident does recall the need for us to be vigilant at all times and the public to be alert at any potential incidents."
"SERIOUS THREAT"
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in a statement that the United Kingdom is "facing the most serious and sustained threat" and that authorities "are doing everything they can to protect the public."
The discovery of the car bomb came nearly 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. Churches and other Christian groups have been involved in counseling and aid, BosNewsLife monitored. There have been also ongoing prayer events where Christians pray for the capital and the country at a time of increased anxiety over terrorism.
It was not clear if the al-Qaida terror network or other groups were behind the latest scare. Authorities stepped up security measures around government buildings, including the Houses of Westminster.
For the past 10 months, British authorities have prepared for an attack and police reportedly
investigated about 30 ongoing terrorist plots. In April, Clarke, who is deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, warned that al-Qaida had survived attempts
to smash its network in the UK, Bloomberg reported.
He warned of a continuing threat that is "deadly" and "enduring". About 200 networks comprising 1,600 identified individuals are being investigated, the UK’s domestic spy agency MI5 reportedly announced in November, last year. (With reporting from London, Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Anti Terrorism Task Force, covering the threats of our time.)
