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Deadly Explosions Rock British Capital
A wounded man gets help outside London's Russell Square tube station, where one of four blasts took place
Four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing after what a shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair called ''barbaric'' terrorist attacks. At least 40 people were killed and more than 350 wounded.
Two U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. In London, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Piddick said at least 33 people were killed in the subway system alone. He confirmed there were other deaths on the bus but gave no figures. London hospital officials contacted by The Associated Press reported more than 350 wounded.
Blair said the ''terrorist attacks'' were clearly designed to coincide with the G-8 summit opening in Gleneagles, Scotland. They also came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics. A group calling itself ''The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe'' claimed responsibility.
The explosions hit three subway stations and a double-decker bus in rapid succession between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. local time. Implementing an emergency plan, authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday. It brought the city's transportation system to a halt.
''It was chaos,'' said Gary Lewis, 32, who was evacuated from a subway train at King's Cross station. ''The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood.''
Blair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, said: ''We shall prevail and they shall not.''
Earlier, a shaken Blair said, ''Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world.''
He departed by helicopter back to London, but said the meeting of the world leaders would continue. The G-8 summit's agenda got sidetracked, however, and they decided to delay declarations on climate change and the global economy.
Bush warned Americans to be ''extra vigilant'' as they head to work after the deadly explosions in London. He said he had conferred with federal homeland security officials back in Washington.
Much of Europe also went on alert. Italy's airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also were among those announcing beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.
The U.N. Security Council was to meet later Thursday to address the London attacks and was expected to pass a resolution condemning the blasts, an official said.
A group calling itself ''The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe'' posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, according to Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Der Spiegel magazine in Berlin, which published the text on their Web sites.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the coordinated explosions had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.
''This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour,'' said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King's College in London.
European stocks dropped sharply after the blasts, with exchanges in London, Paris and Germany all down about 2 percent. Insurance and travel-related stocks were hit hard, and the British pound also fell. Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, rose.
The explosions also unnerved traders on Wall Street, sending stocks down sharply in morning trading.
The U.S. officials who gave the death toll spoke on condition of anonymity because British officials have yet to make the toll public. U.S. authorities learned of the number from their British counterparts, according to the official.
Officials at seven major hospitals surveyed by The Associated Press reported 358 people had been wounded, including more than 120 who were treated and released.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts that ripped through his city were ''mass murder'' carried out by terrorists bent on ''indiscriminate ... slaughter.''
''This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners,'' said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had ''full confidence'' in London.
Jay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the blast that destroyed a double-decker bus at Russell Square in central London, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. He said the top deck of the bus had collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor.
Many appeared badly injured, and bloodied people ran from the scene.
''A big blast, a big bomb,'' he told The Associated Press. ''People were running this way panicked. They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass.''
''I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air,'' Belinda Seabrook told Press Association, the British news agency.
Traces of explosives were found at two explosion sites, a senior police official said. Police confirmed fatalities but had not confirmed any numbers by early afternoon.
Pope Benedict XVI deplored the ''terrorist attacks,'' calling them ''barbaric acts against humanity,'' and said he was praying for the victim's families.
Explosions were reported at the Aldgate station near the Liverpool Street railway terminal, Edgware Road and King's Cross in north London, Old Street in the financial district and Russell Square, near the British Museum.
''I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets,'' office worker Kibir Chibber, 24, said at the Aldgate subway station.
Simon Corvett, 26, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described ''this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered.''
''You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted,'' he said. ''There were some people in real trouble.''
London's cell phone network was working after the explosions but was overloaded and spotty, limiting communication.
On March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people.
Source: AP
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