London Car Bombs
Further information: 2007 London car bombsThe police said they believed the attack was linked to the two bombs discovered and defused in London 36 hours before. The vehicle was reported to have contained 60 litres of petrol, gas cylinders, and nails. Scotland Yard reported that while the gas contained in the canisters and the quantity of the canisters remains unknown, further details would be given after they have been analysed by forensic experts. The head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command said, "It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been serious injury or loss of life." The device could not have detonated, because it lacked an oxidizer, according to a columnist for The Register (UK). This information may have originated from an interview of former CIA counter-terrorism officer Larry Johnson, conducted by Keith Olbermann of MSNBC on 29 June.
According to Sky News, the gas cylinders contained propane, used for patio heaters. A second bomb was later found in a blue Mercedes-Benz 280E believed to have been left in the same area at around the same time. The illegally-parked car received a parking ticket in Cockspur Street at 02:30. At about 03:30 the car was transported to the Park Lane car pound. Staff left the car in a public area after smelling petrol fumes and alerted police on hearing about the first bomb.
U.S. officials told NBC News that three men had been identified and were believed to be from Birmingham. The network reported that one of the three men could be an associate of Dhiren Barot, an Indian convert to Islam who was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for plotting to fill limousines with explosives similar to those found in these incidents and park them in garages beneath hotels and office complexes. Bharot also planned to attack five financial landmarks in the United States: the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup Center in New York City; the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, both in Washington, D.C.; and the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey. Scotland Yard denied claims from a report by ABC News that police had a "crystal clear" picture of one suspect from CCTV footage.
A 27-year-old doctor from India, Mohammed Haneef was arrested at Brisbane Airport in Australia on 2 July in connection with the bombings in the UK. He was arrested while trying to board a flight with a one way ticket to Bangalore, India, apparently to visit his newly born daughter. The arrest followed information received from the UK. As the case against him collapsed, Dr. Haneef was released with all charges dropped.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack
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