Painstaking search for terrorists' signature By John Steele (Filed: 09/07/2005)
Daily Telegraph Forensic experts yesterday began searching for clues in a bomb-shattered carriage lying 500 yards into one of the oldest and deepest Tube lines. The pace was slow and the approach delicate because the bodies of as many as 20 victims of <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nbomb108.xm l> the Piccadilly Line bomb near King's Cross were still trapped in the wreckage. Forensic investigators at the scene of the bus bomb Forensic investigators at the scene of the bus bomb After engineers declared the tunnel structurally safe, the aim was to remove the dead and start a fingertip examination. If the experts are lucky, they will find chemical traces, tiny scraps of bomb casing or detonation and timing devices. The carriage may be removed from the tunnel to allow better access but that could involve dismantling it, which could take many days. Similar searches started 100 yards into <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nbomb408.xm l> a tunnel near Liverpool Street station, where another of the bombs went off, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nbomb308.xm l> and outside Edgware Road. Bodies were recovered and it was hoped that the two carriages could be removed. At <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nbomb208.xm l> Tavistock Square, where a bomb blew off the upper deck of a No 30 bus, spraying wreckage across a wide area, the investigation presented a different kind of forensic challenge. The bus will be removed for further analysis and the collection of evidence from outside the British Medical Association building will continue for some time. Methodical exploration of the four crime scenes is vital. Models of the carriages will be constructed and created on 3D computer programmes. Although suicide bombings cannot be ruled out, there is so far no evidence to confirm that. The bombers may have planted the devices then merged with the rush-hour crowds of commuters. They may have gone straight to Heathrow or boarded a Eurostar train, fleeing on false documents, or they may be back at home in Britain. It is possible that they are already planning further atrocities. The spectre of the <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/12/wterr12.xml > Madrid bombings in March last year looms large. The north African gang who killed 190 rail passengers had substantial amounts of explosives and were planning further bombings when they were cornered by police four weeks later and blew themselves up. Scotland Yard faces a similar race against time. Within hours of Thursday's explosions, police had ordered checks on ports and airports. Detectives also took large amounts of CCTV footage from Underground and bus route cameras from which it is hoped that the faces of the bombers will emerge. Hundreds of officers began interviewing survivors and witnesses to build up descriptions. At Scotland Yard and in the nearby MI5 headquarters at Thames House, dossiers on known and suspected terrorists linked to al-Qa'eda or other Islamist groups were being studied. If the bombers are British-born, questions that used to be asked in Northern Ireland will be applied: did any suspected young extremists disappear suddenly or start acting strangely after the attacks? Do the bombings jog memories of suspicious comments made in mosques or colleges? The kind of explosive used could tell a tale or provide a link to past attacks elsewhere. It will become clear from swabs taken in the carriages and the bus. All four devices consisted of up to 10lb of explosives, an amount easily carried in a rucksack. The construction of the bomb is always a critical factor in anti-terrorist inquiries. Devices bear the "signatures" of their creators and scraps of metal or plastic containers could yield a partial fingerprint. Bombs can be detonated by fuses but may also use clocks or watches as timers. They can also be triggered by a telephone signal. Phone parts may provide vital clues. Evidence about mobile phones was central to the Madrid inquiries. The reconstruction of the London explosions will try to establish whether telephones were involved. No signal could reach the deep Piccadilly Line but it is not clear whether the same is true of the other lines which are sub-surface at the points where the bombs exploded. Senior Scotland Yard officers said they could not yet reach conclusions on several key questions. For example, was the bus explosion the work of a suicide bomber, an "own goal" or a package left by someone who escaped? Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said: "We have absolutely nothing to suggest that this was a suicide bomb attack, although nothing at this stage can be ruled out." Andy Hayman, the assistant commissioner and leader of the investigation, said it was not clear whether the bomb was on the floor of the upper deck or on a seat. Detectives will try to verify media reports that a man was seen nervously fiddling with something in a bag. Sources suggested that it was possible he was a fourth potential Underground bomber who could not get on to a train after the network closed when the first bombs went off. He could have blown himself up accidentally when the timer operated - or in desperation. Were the Tube bombs suicides? Sources said that this could not be ruled out, although it seemed likely that the bombs were left near doors and that the bombers escaped. Mr Hayman said it was too early to say how the devices were detonated. Police have received no direct claims from terrorist groups and are analysing one made by a purported al-Qa'eda offshoot on an internet site. _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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