Video shows London bombers staged practice run

CTV.ca
Sep. 20, 2005

The suicide bombers who carried out a devastating attack on London's transit system on July 7 staged a practice run just nine days before the bombings, police say.

The four members of the terrorist cell travelled from the northern city of Leeds and visited their targets on the capital's transit system.

Detectives managed to retrace their movements by studying tens of thousands of hours of CCTV footage.

The visit "might suggest the suspects were carrying out reconnaissance of potential targets on the London transport system and checking the time of the journey they intended to take on the day of the attack," London's Metropolitan Police said.

"Other cases here and abroad have suggested that terrorists do visit possible targets as part of their planning, checking layouts, timings and security before carrying out attacks," police said.

CCTV images show three of the bombers entering Luton station, before travelling to King's Cross station where they are also pictured.

Speaking from London, CTV's Tom Kennedy said: "it's a safe assumption that this was a dry run."

"I think what it does show police was that this was no spur of the moment operation," he said.

"There was a lot of organization behind this. These people went into these bombings deliberately preparing themselves."

Al-Qaeda has admitted it carried out the attacks.

In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera, al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group had the "honour" of carrying out the attacks.

Osama Bin Laden's lieutenant had previously praised the bombings and blamed them on the U.K.'s foreign policy.

The 7 July attacks killed 56 people -- including the four bombers -- and injured more than 700.

Three bombs were detonated on underground trains just outside Liverpool Street and Edgware Road stations, and on another travelling between King's Cross and Russell Square.

The fourth explosion took place on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, not far from King's Cross.

Evidence of a practice run supports the theory that all four had planned to detonate their rucksack bombs on the city's Tube network.

It is believed that the bus bomber, Hasib Hussain, was prevented from getting onto the Northern Line on the day of the attacks because of disruption to the service.

The other bombers -- Shehzad Tanweer, Germaine Lindsay and Mohammad Sidique Khan -- detonated their devices almost simultaneously.

Relatives of those killed in the attacks are set to receive payments of at least £10,000 through a special fund.

And survivors left seriously injured could receive up to £15,000, while those unable to work for more than four weeks are to be offered up to £3,000.

The money will come from the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund, which has raised almost £9m from the public.