Home Page

British Police
Report Break
In Bombing Probe

By MARC CHAMPION and JEANNE WHALEN in London, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP in Leeds, England, and PHILIP SHISHKIN in Brussels
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 13, 2005; Page A1

British police arrested one person and raided six homes in connection with last week's London terrorist attacks, and authorities are investigating whether four men suspected of involvement died in the bombings in what could mark the first suicide-bomb attack on a major Western city.

Police said forensic evidence suggested it was "very likely" that at least one bomber died in the attacks on three subways and a bus, which killed at least 52 people. The police also said they had film, captured by one of the city's many closed-circuit security cameras, of four men suspected of carrying out the attacks gathered at King's Cross station in central London about 20 minutes before the three subway bombs were detonated at 8:51 a.m. last Thursday. The bus bomb exploded about one hour later. The identities and nationalities of the suspected bombers weren't released.

The developments marked a major breakthrough in a case that, until now, had been marked by an apparent lack of evidence and concern that the bombers were at large and could strike again. The possibility that the bombers killed themselves in the attacks also could represent an escalation of terrorist tactics in the West with a type of strike more typically associated with insurgencies in the Middle East and Iraq. In the Madrid terrorist attack last year, which killed 191 people, the bombers triggered their devices with mobile phones. All 19 terrorists in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. died after hijacking commercial airliners.

Even as the British investigation broke new ground, the United Kingdom and other governments in the European Union said they would push for tougher measures to help prevent future terrorist attacks. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday he might bring forward new counterterrorist legislation planned for next spring, as it became clear what new powers British police need. Yesterday, EU finance ministers agreed to speed up measures to block funding for terrorist groups. Britain's interior minister, Charles Clarke, called a meeting of his EU counterparts in Brussels today to discuss additional joint efforts.

The British investigation into London's attacks yesterday zeroed in on northern England, where many former industrial cities have become home to Muslim immigrants. The suspects appear to have traveled to Luton, 30 miles north of London, by car and taken the train from there to King's Cross.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE • Attacks Reignite Debate Over British Tactics7   • Affluent Muslims Are Part of London's Fabric8   • Network Links U.K. Police, Muslims9   • Profiles of Victims10   • British Police Fear More Attacks by Terrorists11   • Complete coverage: Terror in London12

Police said three of the four men connected to the bombings were from western Yorkshire county, about 200 miles north of London. The personal documents of three of the suspected bombers were found close to the bombs at three of the four explosion sites, said Peter Clarke, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police. Property belonging to the fourth man, who was reported missing by his family last Thursday, the day of the attacks, was discovered on the bus.

In what he described as a fast-moving investigation, Mr. Clarke said police were now investigating "specifically whether they all died in the explosions."

Sky News reported late last night that all four men were British nationals, but a police spokesman declined to comment. Police also didn't provide any information on the person arrested, other than to say the arrest was made in west Yorkshire.

Early yesterday, British police with warrants raided six houses in the area of Leeds, a Yorkshire city of 715,000. Public records indicate that one of the residents of one of the houses raided by police was Hasib Hussain, who was named by the London Times as one of the suspected bombers along with Shehzad Tanweer. The report linking both men to the bombings could not be confirmed with West Yorkshire police last night. Residents of the Hussain home did not answer the phone last night.

Police also closed a railway station in Luton, while investigating a car they believe is tied to the London attacks. A second car was last night being examined in Leighton Buzzard, northwest of London, in connection with the attacks, Bedfordshire police said.

13 Latest Updates See the latest news on Underground disruptions14 from Transport for London, which runs the city's system.

Mr. Clarke of the Metropolitan police said police had taken action to neutralize materials found in the car at Luton station and at one of the Leeds area houses to ensure they posed no risk to the public. He didn't say whether these were explosives. In Leeds, the authorities blasted down the door of one home so that police could enter. About 500 people were evacuated from neighboring homes.

Leeds has a sizable Muslim population and is home to some 9,600 current asylum applicants, about a quarter of all those in the U.K., according to the local authority. Most of these are from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Africa. Leeds was also the scene of race riots in 2001, as were other cities in the area, including Bradford, Oldham and Burnley. Most of the rioters were Muslims, protesting aggression by white neo-fascist groups.

The neighborhoods in the Leeds area targeted by police yesterday all are gritty, low-income and full of red-brick and white stucco homes. Crime investigators dressed in white scrubs worked at the sites late yesterday afternoon. One of the locations searched is about two blocks from the Leeds Grand Mosque.

A neighbor of one of the houses raided, who asked that her name not be used, said that three generations of a south Asian family lived in the house, adding that she believed the family had lived there for 20 years and included two young men in their early and late twenties.

A neighbor of another house raided, on Stratford Street, said the neighborhood has been rocked by racial tension in recent years. A few years ago, a fight between south Asian teens and white teens resulted in the death of one young man fighting with the white group, said the neighbor, who was reached by phone and asked not to be named. Since then Asians and whites have frequently gotten into fights. The neighbor, who is Asian, said a group of white boys broke windshields on his car and other cars on the block a few months ago.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., and the Madrid bombings last year, the EU has already taken numerous steps to better coordinate its fight against terrorism. But the fragmentation of its security services and legal systems together with increasingly open borders has made it easier for mobile terrorist groups to operate.

German Interior Minister Otto Schilly said in an interview he would ask his EU counterparts when they meet in Brussels today to share information on fingerprints of asylum seekers and rejected visa applications. He said he also wants Europol, the EU police clearing house, to have executive powers to conduct EU-wide investigations.

Charles Clarke, the U.K. interior minister, also has said he will ask for the EU to push through regulations requiring all phone companies and Internet service providers to keep records of traffic for at least 12 months.

Many of these proposals, however, may be tough to implement. After the Madrid bombings 16 months ago, European officials also promised to improve cross-border coordination and devolve more powers to Europol. But over a year later, progress remains slow. Europol hasn't acquired any substantial new powers on counterterrorism, despite initial calls to give the agency greater authority in initiating its own investigations.

Law enforcement remains the prerogative of national governments, so the EU as a whole can only set out broad policy contours, leaving the actual enforcement and implementation in the hands of national agencies. In addition, Europe as a whole has tighter personal data-protection laws than the U.S. does, reflecting the continent's ambivalence about encroaching on individual liberties for the sake of law enforcement.

But that balance has come into question as racial and religious tensions have increased amid fears of further terrorist strikes. In the Netherlands, a Dutch-Moroccan man confessed in court yesterday to last year's murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who had been critical of Islam. The murder had fanned tensions in the country.

Italy's interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, yesterday set out proposals to increase the amount of time police can hold terror suspects without charges to 24 hours, from 12 hours, and to ease immigration procedures for immigrants who inform on terror networks.

Write to Marc Champion at marc.champion@wsj.com¹⁵, Jeanne Whalen at jeanne.whalen@wsj.com¹⁶, Carrick Mollenkamp at carrick.mollenkamp@wsj.com¹⁷ and Philip Shishkin at philip.shishkin@wsj.com¹⁸