piddle2k6
05-04-2007, 04:45 PM
LONDON (AFP) - Three suspects were charged Thursday over the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London which killed 52 commuters, police said, in the first indictments since the horrific attacks.
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();window.yzq_d['cwe1G1f4aw8-']='&U=13k8h7o0o%2fN%3dcwe1G1f4aw8-%2fC%3d200090371.201345727.202628846.200222684%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d200582125';http://row.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=4fg0olf4ais91HlpRgfqRGRq2SpP9UYVJzkADSGq&T=145casfkh%2fX%3d1175791417%2fE%3d2022107250%2fR% 3dukie_news%2**%3d5%2fV%3d2.1%2fW%3dHR%2fY%3dUKIE% 2fF%3d4200554256%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d296AF857&U=13k8h7o0o%2fN%3dcwe1G1f4aw8-%2fC%3d200090371.201345727.202628846.200222684%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d200582125The men -- identified as Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil -- were involved in the "reconnaissance and planning" of the attacks, in which four bombers blew themselves up on underground trains and a bus, police said.
"I appreciate that bringing these charges will have an impact on many people," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism squad.
"For some it will bring back horrible memories of that terrible day. For others there may be some relief that after such a length of time there is some visible progress in an investigation that has had to be kept secret."
Their arrests last month were the first major detentions since the bombings, in which near-simultaneous blasts caused devastation on the London transport system during the morning rush-hour.
The three were charged that between November 1 and June 29, 2005 "they unlawfully and maliciously conspired ... to cause explosions on the Transport for London system and/or tourist attractions in London," prosecutors added.
The four suicide bombers -- three of them Britons of Pakistani origin and one a naturalised Jamaican -- died when they set off rucksack bombs on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus.
The attack also injured more than 700 in what was the worst terrorist atrocity on British soil and the first such suicide attack in Europe.
The bombings were followed exactly two weeks later by an apparent copycat attack which failed. Six men are currently on trial for that alleged attempt.
The three suspects charged Thursday were detained on March 22 under the Terrorism Act 2000.
At the time police said detectives had been investigating at home and abroad since the July 7 bombings, which prompted soul-searching about the extent of Muslim integration in British society.
The suspected ringleader of the bombings, Mohamed Sidique Khan, and fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer said in videos recorded before their deaths that British foreign policy, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, motivated their actions.
The Metropolitan Police said last month that they had always been keen to determine whether anyone else helped Khan, Tanweer, plus fellow bombers Hasib Hussain and Jermaine Lindsay.
A May 11, 2006 report by the parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee said that Khan and Tanweer were "likely" to have had contact with Al-Qaeda members while visiting Pakistan.
A theory that a terrorist mastermind fled Britain shortly before the bombings was discounted. In addition, there was no intelligence to indicate there was a fourth or fifth bomber, the committee said.
Thoughts?
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();window.yzq_d['cwe1G1f4aw8-']='&U=13k8h7o0o%2fN%3dcwe1G1f4aw8-%2fC%3d200090371.201345727.202628846.200222684%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d200582125';http://row.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=4fg0olf4ais91HlpRgfqRGRq2SpP9UYVJzkADSGq&T=145casfkh%2fX%3d1175791417%2fE%3d2022107250%2fR% 3dukie_news%2**%3d5%2fV%3d2.1%2fW%3dHR%2fY%3dUKIE% 2fF%3d4200554256%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d296AF857&U=13k8h7o0o%2fN%3dcwe1G1f4aw8-%2fC%3d200090371.201345727.202628846.200222684%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d200582125The men -- identified as Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil -- were involved in the "reconnaissance and planning" of the attacks, in which four bombers blew themselves up on underground trains and a bus, police said.
"I appreciate that bringing these charges will have an impact on many people," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism squad.
"For some it will bring back horrible memories of that terrible day. For others there may be some relief that after such a length of time there is some visible progress in an investigation that has had to be kept secret."
Their arrests last month were the first major detentions since the bombings, in which near-simultaneous blasts caused devastation on the London transport system during the morning rush-hour.
The three were charged that between November 1 and June 29, 2005 "they unlawfully and maliciously conspired ... to cause explosions on the Transport for London system and/or tourist attractions in London," prosecutors added.
The four suicide bombers -- three of them Britons of Pakistani origin and one a naturalised Jamaican -- died when they set off rucksack bombs on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus.
The attack also injured more than 700 in what was the worst terrorist atrocity on British soil and the first such suicide attack in Europe.
The bombings were followed exactly two weeks later by an apparent copycat attack which failed. Six men are currently on trial for that alleged attempt.
The three suspects charged Thursday were detained on March 22 under the Terrorism Act 2000.
At the time police said detectives had been investigating at home and abroad since the July 7 bombings, which prompted soul-searching about the extent of Muslim integration in British society.
The suspected ringleader of the bombings, Mohamed Sidique Khan, and fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer said in videos recorded before their deaths that British foreign policy, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, motivated their actions.
The Metropolitan Police said last month that they had always been keen to determine whether anyone else helped Khan, Tanweer, plus fellow bombers Hasib Hussain and Jermaine Lindsay.
A May 11, 2006 report by the parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee said that Khan and Tanweer were "likely" to have had contact with Al-Qaeda members while visiting Pakistan.
A theory that a terrorist mastermind fled Britain shortly before the bombings was discounted. In addition, there was no intelligence to indicate there was a fourth or fifth bomber, the committee said.
Thoughts?