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There was widespread panic in a number of countries on Friday as the world reeled in shock from the impact of Thursday's bomb attacks in London.
There was widespread panic in a number of countries on Friday as the world reeled in shock from the impact of Thursday's bomb attacks in London.
Four terrorist blasts on three subway trains and a double-decker bus killed 50 people and also injured 700 people while a massive manhunt was under way for those responsible for London's bloodiest day since World War II.
Fears were particularly palpable in the United States, Japan, Italy, France, Indonesia and Australia, among others as their respective governments tried to strengthen the security systems in their countries.
US raises alert level to orange
CNN reported Friday that in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that the alert level had been raised to orange, or high.
He said the order was not a result of any 'credible information suggesting an imminent attack here in the United States" but was taken out of concern about possible 'copycat" attacks.
Chertoff said the heightened alert covers regional and inner-city passenger rail, subways and metropolitan bus systems even as officials in major cities urged Americans to go about their business but be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
They stressed that they did not have any specific or credible threats against transit systems in the United States but said Thursday's events in London and 'some other generic threat streams that have strategic-level importance" have focused efforts on preventing rail attacks.
The national passenger rail network Amtrak increased its security level by inspecting tracks and deploying more officers and canine teams at stations. Coastal transit systems took similar steps.
In New York, where the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Centre killed nearly 2,800 people, city and state officials urged straphangers to be more aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious packages immediately.
'We know what it's like to be attacked," New York State Governor George Pataki told newsmen, adding, 'But we know what it's like to live in freedom and in confidence, and that's what we have got to do."
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN his officers were 'doing everything that's prudent, everything that we reasonably can do to protect the city."
But he said it was impossible to put a police officer 'on every train all the time, or one on every station all the time. New Yorkers are tough people. They realize that there are certain risks they have to assume. I think they also realize that the government is doing everything that we reasonably can do to protect them."
In Chicago, police tightened security around the central business district and transit system and Mayor Richard M. Daley said his office was staying in touch with federal Homeland Security officials.
'They are not suggesting that people change their travel plans but they have called for increased vigilance from passengers and authorities," Daley said.
Similar steps were being taken on subways, buses, airports and train stations in major cities nationwide.
Many of those steps were launched immediately after the bombings hit three trains and a double-decker bus during London's morning rush hour, killing 37 people and wounding 700.
In Washington, the Metro transit police sent special teams armed with machine guns and accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs to patrol subway stations, trains and buses while Capitol Hill police announced on Thursday that there were plans to search buses, tour vans and larger vehicles traveling on the roads leading to the Capitol. Security also was tightened around the Pentagon.
Congress is out of session for the Independence Day break. The House and Senate are scheduled to convene again next week.
France reinforces border controls
France said it was reinforcing border controls, especially for cross-Channel traffic, following the bombings in London.
The office of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin reportedly announced the measures on Friday after a meeting involving the premier, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to review measures already taken in France.
'The prime minister decided to reinforce border controls, especially for the cross-Channel border," the statement said, adding that security measures would also be tightened around the country, with 1,100 soldiers deployed from Saturday compared to 250 previously.
'Now more than ever, our democracies must come together and show that they are united against the terrorist menace," French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said in the statement, adding, 'Now more than ever, we have to show vigilance and determination."
Paris raised the four-level security system (yellow, orange, red, scarlet) to 'red alert, with increased patrols in train and metro stations and police random checks on train passengers. France has also closed down parts of its air space, excluded private leisure aircraft from flying and is stocking potable water, said a spokeswoman of the Paris police.
Japan beefs up security at nuclear plants
BBC reported Friday that extra measures were also introduced to help protect commuters on lines already subject to stringent checks and a government spokesman said Japan, which is a G8 nation and has troops stationed in Iraq, was on high alert.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said there were no plans to withdraw Japanese forces from Iraq.
Agency report said the Japanese authorities fear that because the capital's metro alone carries as many as six million passengers a day, it is particularly vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
The new measures include the removal of rubbish bins that had only been recently been re-installed after previous security scares and more police on duty at major stations.
However, security experts said the authorities were constrained by legal limits on surveillance activities, which make it more difficult to gather detailed intelligence in Japan than in some other countries.
A high-ranking police official is reported to have warned that despite the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway 10 years ago, Japanese people are less wary of terrorism than they need to be.
Unless the public becomes more vigilant, he said, it would be impossible to prevent a terrorist attack.
Some 500 Japanese troops are currently in the southern Iraqi city of Samara but the attacks and Japan's operation in Iraq 'should not be directly linked," Koizumi said, speaking at the G8 summit in Gleneagles.
He did stress, however, the need for Japan to take steps to prevent attacks on its own soil.
'No country can say that there is no possibility. I think we need to continue to take sufficient steps against terrorism. You cannot tell when or where it could happen," the prime minister was quoted as saying.
In another measure, Japan issued a travel warning to its citizens in London, urging them to avoid central London.
Fear over threat to attack Rome
Across Europe on Friday, people were on edge as a group claiming links to al Qaeda threatened to attack Rome to punish Italy for supporting the United States.
The statement, issued in the name of the little known Organisation of al Qaeda - Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, was pasted on a website. It did not, however, appear on main Web sites used by Islamist militants loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The group, which praised the bomb blasts in London, said, 'We warn Rome, the capital of infidels, that the lions of Jihad in Europe are ready to launch strong strikes against the collaborating government with the crusaders, the Americans, the enemies of God, the Prophet and Muslims."
Afghan president, bin Ladin's brother mourn
In Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, President Hamid Karzai, who came to power after the Taliban's overthrow, said the London attacks were not against a city, or a country, but against the whole of mankind.
'The people of Afghanistan recognise very well the pain of the British people, because the people of Afghanistan were the first to suffer at the hands of terrorism for so many years and suffered for so long," Karzai told newsmen, adding, 'So we recognise the pain of the people of Britain. We are with them at this hour of pain and sorrow and we share with them the pain that they have."
Nearly four years after the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden remains at large and is widely thought to be hiding out along the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border.
The terrorist leader's half-brother, Yeslam Bin Ladin, meanwhile condemned the London bomb blasts and loss of life, in a statement issued in Geneva on Friday.
In the statement, the Swiss-based businessman and perfume manufacturer - one of more than 50 siblings of the man accused of masterminding the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - called for an end to such violence.
'I am very saddened to note that such acts of violence persist. Life is sacred and all forms of violence must be absolutely eradicated from our society," said Bin Ladin, who spells his name differently from the rest of his Saudi family.
'I offer my sincere condolences to the victims of these abominable attacks and their families," he added.
Bin Ladin, a dual Swiss-Saudi national who has lived in the Geneva area for two decades, has repeatedly condemned the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and on Thursday, he was quoted by the Geneva daily 'Le Temps" as saying he would be willing to finance his brother's defence as the trial would allow him to demonstrate that he has no links to his activities.
A Pakistani minister said earlier this week that the Al Qaeda chief and his close allies might be hiding in southern Afghanistan, which has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent weeks.
London moves against recurrence, intensifies hunt for bombers
In London, investigators scrambled to hunt down suspected al Qaeda bombers who killed more than 50 people in rush-hour London, to stop them striking again.
A day after four bombs tore through three underground trains and a red double-decker bus, commuters headed to work again on London's battered transport network, some fearful, some defiant.
'My granddad called me last night and told me I had to go to work today," said Sally Higson, 36. 'He's 89. He lived through the war and said it was important to carry on as normal."
Cabinet ministers said forensic teams were hunting for clues on who carried out the bombings and whether suicide attackers were involved. The New York Times said timing devices rather than suicide bombers set off the explosions and London police chief Ian Blair said there was nothing to suggest suicide attacks.
Citizens gripped by fear of more attacks
On Friday, fears of more attacks kept commuters and markets jittery in London.
'We have to have ... maximum consideration of the risk of another attack and that's why our total effort today is focused on identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to justice," Home Secretary Charles Clarke told BBC radio, noting that investigators were examining a statement from the 'Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe".
The e-mail statement by the previously unknown group said, 'Our mujahideen have carried out a blessed invasion in London and here is Britain now burning with fear and terror ... We have repeatedly warned Britain and have kept our promise."
Clarke said, 'We monitor now very intensively a wide range of Web sites ... and this one and their claim is something we certainly take seriously."
Financial markets battered
The attacks battered financial markets but oil prices recovered to near $61 on Friday as analysts said the attacks were expected to have a limited impact on the global economy and oil demand. British shares also recovered their losses but sterling slid further against the dollar.
'There's still a bit of a terrorist risk premium in the market," said a strategist at a London bank. 'It would make a difference if we knew for sure that these were suicide bombers rather than an active cell on the loose."
London Muslims warned to stay at home
Police urged commuters to consider whether to come to work on Friday to avoid burdening the transport system and the Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home, fearing a backlash against the community. The Muslim Council of Britain, which represents 1.6 million Muslims, called for prayers for the victims.
Police in London said they expected the death toll to rise beyond the 50 so far recorded, although they said it might not exceed 100.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair said police were having 'great difficulty" determining the number of deaths because of the damage at the four blast sites.
One train 'still contains a number of bodies that have not been retrieved," Blair told reporters.
Blair blames al Qaeda
The police chief said the attacks had 'all the hallmarks of al Qaeda," although he said there was 'absolutely nothing to suggest" they were suicide bombings
Nothing could be ruled out, however, he said, assuring, 'It is the implacable resolve of the Met Police Service to track down those who are responsible for these terrible deaths."
The train bombs were likely placed on the floors of carriages, Deputy Police Commissioner Andy Hayman said but added that the police were not sure if the bus bomb was placed on the floor or a seat.
'Initially, the forensic investigation suggests that each device used had less than 10 pounds (4.5 kgs) of high explosives," Hayman said.
Half of the 700 wounded were treated on the scene and the rest were taken to hospitals, Blair said. One person died after reaching hospital. Blair said 100 people remained in hospitals overnight and 22 had serious injuries.
Hayman appealed for patience as the investigation proceeds, saying, 'Our people are working under the most extreme circumstances."
Near the Russell Square Underground station, the scene of the second blast, police were yet to reach the carriage because of fears about the stability of the tunnel, 'vermin and other dangerous substances," Hayman said.
Earlier Friday, Britain's top law enforcement official said police were searching for the bombers before they had a chance to strike again.
A passenger who survived the bus blast said he saw an 'extremely agitated" man rummaging in a bag just seconds before the explosion, the UK's Press Association reported.
Richard Jones, 61, from Binfield, near Bracknell, Berks, told BBC that he had got off a bus just before it was blown up in Tavistock Square on Thursday.
Investigators found fragments of timing devices that may have been used in the three train blasts, but no such fragments have been found in the bus explosion, U.S. law enforcement sources told CNN.
'The cause of the bus explosion right now is problematic. We don't know yet what we're dealing with as the cause there," one law enforcement official said.
However, police commissioner Blair said investigators have found no evidence of timing devices 'because we haven't reached that point in the investigation."