bomb alerts and stuff

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Four, five, maybe six buses (I can't see round corners), including three 38s, parked up outside our office at the High Holborn/New Oxford Street fork having made their passengers disembark. No traffic near TCR, I guess.

Was this some elaborate sting operation? Probably not.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

Armed police have entered a hospital near warren st I think. according to sky

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

Ooh that could be good news

― beanz (beanz), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

this just sounds weird. an odd time of day, too, surely? or maybe that's the point.

incidentally what exactly is a detonator? excuse my ignorance...

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

I'm with Ronan, and I hope any who get away go after the people who sent them on the fucked-up mission.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

was saying in pub only tuesday night that there's no reason it couldn't happen on a weekly basis if they had enough volunteers. (or enough decent explosive, it turns out. but remember all the extra explosive found in luton car...)

― koogs (koogs), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it's one thing to send people off on suicide missions. They only have to stay focussed ofr a couple of hours. Sending them off to be captured (with or without their knowledge - this could just be a terror top-up) is a different matter. I am now leaning towards actual bombs, incompetently made.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

ok, now i'm imagining a cartoon-singed would-be-bomber walking into a hospital and going "i uh, fell down some stairs..."

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

Rumour (and Reuters) has it that Mr Backpack has been tracked down to University College Hospital, which has been surrounded by heavily-armed bizzies.

― Alex M (Alex M), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

Detonator (simple-minded version) is an easily-triggered explosion not big enough to do much damage, but big enough to kick off the major explosives.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

BBC saying detonators were attached to "dummy" nail bombs...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

If these fuckers survived and are captured it could be the break the security bods need to find out how big and coordinated this network might be.

xpost
a detonator is a small bomb that makes a big bomb blow up

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

University college london says sky
x-post

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

incidentally what exactly is a detonator?

It's normally a little explosive thing that gets attached to a larger chunk of explosives. When the detonator goes bang, it sets the main explosives off too.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:15 (twenty years ago)

University College London is the university, where I am now at work; University College Hospital is the affiliated hospital.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:15 (twenty years ago)

i just txted shropshire ok (and got a reply)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

Nail bombs which presumably didn't go off or there'd be more injuries.

Independent and thankfully incompetent copycats, then?

― Tom (Groke), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

there really is something about the cowardice of this stuff that this kind of incident hammers home. I mean, without getting too far into the bravery/cowardice rhetoric of the last few weeks, it really is horrible to think someone could try and do something, even disrupt, again, after the atmosphere of recent days, and I say that as someone who only gets it from the UK news and these parts.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

bbc also stressing that police "not treating this as a major incident" ??

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

I don't know. I would figure potential bombers might also carry knives or something, in case of a problem.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

From the When Saturday Comes messageboard:

SEVENTY TWO VIRGINS IN AFTERLIFE SAID TO BE UNHAPPY BUT "COPING"

_________________

MELANCHOLY WOULD-BE BOMBER DEVASTED BY SUICIDE FAILURE

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

Could be one inept bombmaker, or a bombmaker supplied with wrong material...
-- Martin Skidmore (lonewolf.cu...), July 21st, 2005 1:07 PM. (Martin Skidmore) (later)

that's pretty rubbish, you'd think they'd have like tested one!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

"not treating this as a major incident YET" is what the bbc says

(my microscopic piece of txt news up-thread is intended to suggest that mobile networks are not entirely down)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

I would figure potential bombers might also carry knives or something, in case of a problem.

Maybe they assume that because God is on their side they won't *have* any problems.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

Nailbombs are particularly disgusting instruments.

― Huey (Huey), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

ken, GET UNDER THE DESK

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

this is really confusing, just waking up now to bbc world service, take care people.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

the incompetence of the police and security services in PREVENTING would-be bombers from getting on the tube bothers me more than any bravery/cowardice issue.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

yeah I guess if you go to bomb something with explosives on your back you don't assume you'll need a knife to finish yourself off

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

could this be a copycat plot perchance in the fall knowledge that the FTSE 100 is starting to fall?

1320: The pound sterling falls against other currencies as word of the incidents hits the markets. The index of leading shares on London's stock exchange also falls.

(from BBC news)

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

This is glib, but to think that people in Baghdad, Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and elsewhere deal with this week in week out...

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

xpost Yeah, Ken, take care dude. And everyone else too. This is just too fucking surreal.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

I like Carsmile's non alarmist approach ;)

― Raston Warrior Robot (alix), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

"LONDON (AP) - Men dressed in chemical protection suits prepare to enter London's Warren St Tube station."

― Alex M (Alex M), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

steve i think "major incidence" has a specific meaning when used by police/hospitals etc.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

sorry, slightly rubbish attempt to inject humour...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

"the incompetence of the police and security services in PREVENTING would-be bombers from getting on the tube bothers me more than any bravery/cowardice issue."----------------impossible to prevent would be anythings from doin what they want to do,unfortunately.

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

None of this makes any sense at all. Take care everyone.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

How are you supposed to prevent would-be suicide bombers from getting on the tube? Metal detectors? Spot searches of rucksacks? Just prevent anyone who looks even vaguely Asian from getting on the train at all?

Apart from the liberties being violated there, what about the logistics? How many millions of people use the train every day? Esp at rush hour? You can't even get conductors to check everyone's tickets at rush hour, let alone check every bag.

― Rum, Sodomy and the LAN (kate), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

Mobile networks: couldn't initially get through to Pam (who is in West End with Ava) but after about a dozen tries, all was good.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

"i saw a man running out, and people chasing him.."
go get em!!!

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

x-post sociah-t-azzahole

OTM people in other countries experience this terror every hour of every day.

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

"i saw a man running out, and people chasing him.."

I laughed at that image, but feel bad for it now.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

heard across the office:
co-worker one: oh!! have you seen what just happened! while i was in the kitchen?
co-worker two: no, what?
co-worker one: another wicket! that's eight now!!

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

dummy nail bombs? that just sounds bizarre.

phones seem to be ok-ish, btw.

is there any confirmation about this "bomber inside uch" thing? has anyone got any working online news sources other than the bbc?

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

Reuters is up, toby.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

Why are newscasters so fucking up themselves, is it not possible for them to talk to a "civilian" without sounding like they are being given a lapdance by a tramp who stinks of shit?

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

my colleagues keep referring to the cricket too. I HATE ~~HENS~~ CRICKET.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

news 24 mainly concentrating on COBRA meeting at the mo, not switching over to sky...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

hehhe tovely image ronan...

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 21 July 2005 12:25 (twenty years ago)

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