London fights to regain footing

Detectives review footage, phone calls
Shoebridge said detectives will have to watch thousands of hours of video — slowly and carefully. Investigators will try to find on tape the point at which bombs were placed, then trace back the movements of the bomber, a task he said could involve hundreds of cameras.

Shoebridge said investigators also will check records of cell phone calls made in the bombed areas just before the explosions, a job that might be difficult if investigators can’t determine where bombers boarded the trains.

It was unclear whether there were any suicide bombers involved in the attacks. U.S. officials told NBC News that their British counterparts had discovered some timing devices associated with the attacks, though it was unclear where or how many.

Investigators doubt that cell phones — used in the Madrid train attacks a year ago — were used to detonate the bombs in the Underground because the phones often don’t work in the system’s tunnels, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

'Potentially very credible' claim
The “Secret Group of al-Qaida’s Jihad in Europe” claimed it was behind the attacks, but the claim could not be immediately verified. In a posting on a Web site, the group said the bombings were punishment for Britain’s involvement in the war in Iraq and invasion of Afghanistan.

It threatened to attack Italy and Denmark for their support of the U.S.-led coalitions in both countries, too.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official acknowledged that the Internet posting was considered a “potentially very credible” claim, in part because the message appeared soon after the attacks and didn’t appeared rushed. But no one was certain, and one defense official said it was too early to say.

The blasts paralyzed the city’s public transportation system Thursday, halting subway service, delaying buses and stranding thousands of residents and tourists.

The bombings happened as world leaders opened the G-8 summit in Scotland. The focus of this year’s summit was poverty reduction and climate change.

Frantic scenes
Scenes of frantic subway passengers covered in soot, some cut and bleeding and flooding out of subway stations flashed across television screens.

As explosions detonated in the vast subway that carries hundreds of thousands passengers a day, subway cars filled with smoke and many broke through the windows to escape or get air. Above ground, buses ferried the wounded and medics used a hotel as a makeshift emergency hospital.

“I didn’t hear anything, just a flash of light, people screaming, no thoughts of what it was, I just had to get out of the train,” said subway passenger Chris Randall, 28, who was hospitalized with cuts and burns on his face, legs and hands.

The worst attack on London since World War II brought out a stoicism that recalled Britain under the blitz of the Nazi Luftwaffe.

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