London terror bombings kill 37, wound 700
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-08 07:21

It was the attack that Britain had long feared, following the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes in New York and Washington and Britain's subsequent alliance with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thursday's explosions also recalled the March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs that killed 191 people on four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain.

People wearing emergency blankets gather near the site of the bus explosion in Tavistock Square. [Reuters]

There was no credible claim of responsibility, and police were investigating whether suicide bombers were involved. Al-Qaida did not issue claims of responsibility after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The attack on London brought out a stoicism that recalled Britain under the blitz of German bombers in World War II, when many Londoners sought refuge in the Underground, site of Thursday's carnage.

As Wednesday's jubilation at winning the Olympics gave way to the terrible shock of Thursday's attacks, Blair rushed back to the capital and made a televised appeal for unity, praising the "stoicism and resilience of the British people."

Both were in evidence across the city, as volunteers helped the walking wounded from blast sites, commuters lent their phones so strangers could call home and thousands faced long lines for homeward-bound buses or even longer walks without complaint.

"As Brits, we'll carry on — it doesn't scare us at all," said tour guide Michael Cahill, 37. "Look, loads of people are walking down the streets. It's Great Britain — not called 'Great' for nothing."

Security was raised in the United States and around the world. The Bush administration upped the terror alert a notch to code orange for the nation's mass transit systems, and bomb-sniffing dogs and armed police patrolled subways and buses in the capital.

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