Britain hunts bombers as toll reaches 50

Commuter reads the latest news on an underground train from Aldgate east towards Westminster. Picture / Reuters

LONDON - Britain faces the risk of more attacks after rush-hour blasts killed dozens in London, and investigators are racing to find the bombers to ensure they do not strike again, the government said on Friday.

Three main rail stations were evacuated on Friday morning in London as security alerts hit the jittery city, 24 hours after bombs killed at least 50 people on the transport network.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, confirmed that more than 50 people had been killed.  Out of the 700 people with injuries, 22 were in a serious or critical condition.

"We have absolutely nothing to suggest this was a suicide bombing attack although nothing at this stage to rule that out," Blair told a news conference.

The New York Times reported today that timers, not suicide bombers, set off the four blasts. Without citing its sources, the newspaper also said the device which ripped the top off a red double-decker bus might have been intended for a different target.

Today in London emergency services were kept busy as wary commuters reported suspicious packages in several areas of the capital.

Euston station was briefly cleared while police searched the station concourse and underground station, British Transport police said.

Minutes after Euston reopened, two other mainline and underground stations -- Liverpool Street and Charing Cross -- were closed because of security alerts.

A police cordon was thrown up near Liverpool Street and sniffer dogs were deployed after a suspicious package was found in a nearby pub.

"Its all deja vu. It is scary," Amy Bawlf, manager of a nearby cafe told Reuters as she was evacuated from her workplace for the second time in two days.

"We are going to get these security alerts all day. People are being extra vigilant and understandably very nervy," she said.

Liverpool Street reopened shortly afterwards.

The security alerts were hampering London's ability to run a near-normal transport service in the aftermath of the attacks.

The underground rail network, one of the world's largest, usually carries 3 million passengers a day, but many people were staying at home on Friday ahead of the weekend.

The Metropolitan Police asked commuters to consider whether it was essential to go to work on Friday.

The attacks -- which ministers said bore the hallmarks of the Islamic militant al Qaeda network -- were London's deadliest in peacetime and coincided with a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) top industrialised countries in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Police said they received no warning. Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the blasts "came completely out of the blue".

Cabinet ministers said forensic teams were hunting for clues on who carried out the bombings and whether suicide attackers were involved.

Fears of more attacks kept commuters and markets jittery.

"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," Clarke told BBC radio. He said investigators were examining a statement from the "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe".

The email 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 websites ... and this one and their claim is something we certainly take seriously."

Britain backed the US-led war in Iraq, and London had been on high alert since al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The blasts also battered financial markets. Oil prices recovered to near US$61 on Friday as analysts said the attacks were expected to have a limited impact on the global economy and oil demand, but sterling slid to a fresh 19-month low 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."

Police urged commuters to consider whether to come to work on Friday to avoid burdening the transport system.

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.

"We know that these people act in the name of Islam," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday. He declined to speculate who was behind the attacks.

Thursday's scenes of shocked and bloodied commuters were in stark contrast to the jubilant crowds who took to the streets on Wednesday after London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

Britain's Guardian newspaper said intelligence chiefs had reduced the threat level from al Qaeda only last month.

A senior US intelligence official, who asked not to be identified, said the United States had detected no indication an attack had been imminent in London.

- REUTERS