Bodies still buried in London underground two days after bombings

Jul 9, 2005, 11:14 GMT

London - An unknown number of bodies remained trapped Friday in a tunnel in London's underground system nearly two days after multiple bombings on the city's transportation system that killed at least 50 people and injured 700.

The bodies lay in the wreckage of the underground train hit in a tunnel between King's Cross and Russell Square. The recovery operation is being hampered by the instability of the tunnel, news reports said.

A massive intelligence operation began after the bomb attacks Thursday morning that hit three trains and a bus. At a press conference on Friday, London police chief Ian Blair said police had an "implacable resolve" to track down those responsible.

It was "blindingly obvious" that a terrorist cell was operating in Britain, said Blair, adding there was "absolutely nothing to suggest" that a suicide bomber was involved in the attack on the bus, but police haven't ruled out that possibility.

Police said Friday the attacks bore "all the hallmarks of al- Qaeda", and news reports said Saturday that police were seeking a Moroccan named Mohamed al-Guerbouzi. Al-Guerbouzi, who has been granted British asylum, is suspected of participating in terrorists attacks in Madrid in 2004 and Casablanca in 2003.

German and French security authorities say al-Guerbouzi, 45, has ties to Jordanian Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, who is suspected of being behind violence against Iraqis and U.S. forces in Iraq, the Independent reported at its website Saturday. A Spanish judge also has tied him to Osama bin Laden, the head of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The Moroccan government has tried to extradite al-Guerbouzi, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the Casablanca attack, which killed 44 people. Spanish authorities have said one of the suspects in the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people, had telephoned al-Guerbouzi, the Independent said.

Police said each of the bombs was probably small enough to fit into a backpack and was likely to have contained less than 4.5 kilogrammes of explosives.

Investigators were concentrating on analysing the explosives used and the devices used to detonate them.

Relatives and friends of people missing since the blasts told of their grief and fear, as police registered more than 100,000 calls on a special helpline. Some relatives said they feared the worst having heard nothing from their loved ones following the horrific explosions.

One man said he was cycling from hospital to hospital in search of his missing brother. Posters were going up around the capital and photos handed out in frantic efforts to find out what had happened.

Full service on the London Underground train network will not return for several weeks, management said Friday. Extensive damage was caused to the three trains affected and to tracks and tunnels.

Queen Elizabeth II Friday delivered a strong and defiant message to terrorists who killed at least 50 people and injured 700 in London saying: "They will not change our way of life." Queen Elizabeth visited badly burned victims in the Royal Hospital in east London.

Prime Minister Tony Blair ended the G8 summit at Gleneagles early Friday to return to London to chair crisis meetings over the attacks.