Second Bombings in London

It appears that terrorists have launched a second wave of bombings in London subway stations, and on at leat one bus, but have failed pretty miserably.

Police said there were small explosions at Warren Street, Oval and Shepherd’s Bush stations and an incident was reported on a bus in east London.

Metropolitan Police Chief Sir Ian Blair said the explosions were “smaller than on the last occasion but we do not know the implications of all this yet.”

At this point, there appears to be only one injury, and no deaths. Reports are that the explosions were small or, in one case, may have been a dud.

A woman who was on the train at the Oval station when the incident happened said she did not hear a bang, but saw people pushing themselves into her carriage.

She said there was a general mood of panic, but the train was not packed. The train was moving when the incident happened.

Other people said they smelled sour smoke.

An explosives expert contacted by CNN says the “sour smell” reported by people coming out of the underground would likely have come from two sources: the rucksack catching fire; and the explosives themselves catching fire after the detonator failed to explode them. The explosives could actually burn and give a toxic smell.

British HAZMAT teams went to work almost immediately. There have been no reports of anything serious arising from that sour smoke smell.

There’s more information in the Washington Post story here.

UPDATE: MaxedOutMama has a clip from one article that suggests that London isn’t quite ready to deal with terrorism quite yet. Apparently one of the bombers escaped a crowded tube station, with lots of people yelling for someone to stop him. Not a single person there even tried, apparently, to so much as trip the guy.

No related posts.

Category: Fighting the Islamists