7/7 is London terror date

Three explosions caused carnage on subway trains as Londoners made their way to work. The top was also ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square in the heart of the city.

According to AFP, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy cited British Home Secretary as having told him that there had been 50 deaths. ‘‘He also told me that to the best of his knowledge, there was no suicide bomber but he could not be sure.”

Police said seven people were killed on an underground train near Liverpool Street, 21 were confirmed dead in another near King’s Cross, seven died at Edgware Road and two more perished in the bus.

Security experts said the blasts had all the hallmarks of the al Qaeda network responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

A previously unknown group, ‘Secret Group of al Qaeda’s Jihad in Europe’, claimed responsibility. ‘‘We are clearly shocked but we are not surprised by what has happened,’’ Assistant Deputy Commissioner of London Police Brian Paddick told reporters, adding that no prior warning had been received.

President George W. Bush, speaking at the G8 summit, told reporters: ‘‘The war on terror goes on…We will not yield to these terrorists, we will find them, we will bring them to justice.’’

Britain is a key ally of the US in Iraq, where al Qaeda is waging a bloody insurgency.

The attacks left Londoners angry and shocked. The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home to avoid any violence aimed at them.

The bombings came just a day after a jubilant London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games. ‘‘I’m deeply saddened that this should happen at the heart of an Olympic city. Unfortunately there is no safe haven. No one can say their city is safe,’’ said International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge in Singapore.

Italy’s interior minister said all Europe was on alert.

The strikes began shortly before 9 a.m. with the first blast and ended an hour and three more explosions later.

People were seen streaming out of underground stations covered in blood and soot. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.

London’s police chief Ian Blair said there were indications of explosives at the sites. Other officials added there was no sign of chemical or biological weapons having been used.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone, speaking in Singapore, suggested suicide bombers may have been involved. ‘‘I wish to speak to you directly — to those who came to London today to take lives,’’ he said. ‘‘I know that you personally do not fear to give your own life in exchange for taking others, which is why you are so dangerous.’’

Emergency services were pushed to the limit, with medics treating the wounded on train platforms and in a makeshift field hospital set up in a retail store. People with non-urgent complaints were urged to stay away from hospitals.

Security experts said the blasts bore all the hallmarks of al Qaeda. ‘‘If what we are looking at is a simultaneous bombing, and it does look like that, it would very certainly fit the classic al Qaeda methodology which centres precisely on that: multi-seated hits on transport and infrastructural targets,’’ said Shane Brighton, intelligence expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence.

‘‘We would put al Qaeda at the top of the list of any suspects,’’ said Alex Standish, Editor of Jane’s Intelligence Digest. ‘‘They have the motives, the means and the opportunity.

‘‘Here you have a massive headline event which involves the three world leaders that al Qaeda detests — Bush, Blair and Putin,’’ he said, speaking of the summit.

The city’s streets rapidly emptied and financial markets initially fell sharply as it became increasingly apparent that the blasts were an attack rather than a power surge on the underground train system as had first been reported.

Oil prices fell over five per cent before recovering and London stocks closed around two per cent lower. Sterling sank to a 19-month low against the dollar and stayed there. REUTERS