What kind of bombs were used? And how were they planted?

[RandomKoolzip]

I'm not seeing a lot of info on these subjects in the media I'm reading.

How were terrorists able to get into the subway system and plant explosives? Were they suicide bombers?

[Wickerman]

1. Saw a report on NBC, I believe, press conference with British officials

and they said, in effect, if we know anything we aren't saying so yet. They don't know if suicides, left behinds, what have yous. I think they are more in the recovery stage, not so much investigation yet.

[RandomKoolzip]

3. The report on Science Daily said the same thing.

It'd be nice (I guess that's the right word) to find out the methods the terrorists used...y'know, for future reference re: prevention.

[NuConvert]

2. These Were Probably Suitcase-Sized Bombs

W/o a sniffer at each station, it's hard to detect someone who wheels a suitcase onto a train. If you detonate inside a tunnel, you get more effect from the blast, as it reverberates and the shock waves continue to radiate. These could have been set off by timers, or by suiciders on the train. We just don't know yet.

[Tyler Durden]

4. Shhh.

Cheap low tech time bombs shed parts of their timers and material all over the place and are frequently found rapidly. Dynamite makes a GREAT BIG BANG, enough to shred a bus, not tear off the top and allow commuters to escape. VERY hard to make small, controlled bombs on a budget.

On the other hand, High tech C4/plastique based time and remote control bombs have VERY SMALL control mechanisms which take much longer to find. You can tailor them and shape the charges so that you get a good sized bang without the wholesale destruction; IDEAL for terror type attacks. Hard to make, hard to control, lots of expertise needed.

Hmmmm.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. The CIA taught a lot of terrorists how to make such bombs

a few years ago.

Are we looking for the sith lord, or the apprentice?

[Tyler Durden]

14. You never find just one Sith. There are always TWO.

[RandomKoolzip]

7. I'm not gonna ask how you know that.

I'm just wondering, though: have police found shrapnel from the bomb yet? Any evidence?

[Tyler Durden]

9. Not that I've heard yet.

I'm not certain a Top Secret Clearance for NBC Warfare ops ever expires. who can say?

"YES, trying to GET OUT, in times of DECLARED EMERGENCY!!!"

"What emergency?"

"WELL judge; there you have it. Youth here doesn't seem to KNOW about the disappearance of the 'Old School!'"

[RandomKoolzip]

13. "But that's what Peorgie was lookin' for!"

So what do you think? Ian, downthread, says that it seems the bombs exploded outside the train, which would, I think, rule out a suicide bomber. Plus, we haven't seen any announcement from "The Secret Organization of Al-Quaeda" aboiut new martyrs.

It seems like they were remote-control detonated.

[Tyler Durden]

15. "If you don't answer the question, we're going to have to gag you!"

Definitely outside. Inside concussion would split an Underground train like burnt sausage and kill HUNDREDS.

And I vote for remote, or proximity, but a prox switch would have to be activated for such a high traffic system. No set and forget.

Any you know, Al Quaeda brags like HELL about their actions and usually sends a tape to Al Jazeera. Also, they go for MAXIMUM casualies. This one is more like BIG BANG, BIG SCARE, LOW BLOOD. Smells like black bag ops TO ME.

[RandomKoolzip]

20. "What?" "Gag him!"

Without strapping on the tinfoil, and without injecting too much politics into a tragic situation, I must point out that the timing is most fortunate for the Bush/Bliar administration.

Isn't this specific "Al Quaeda" chapter based in IRAN? Maybe they're not entirely certain of terrorist scum protocol in such situations.

[Tyler Durden]

24. "Who was that lady I saw you with last night??"

Oh, I'd say a "terror" bombing, whether staged or real, is INTENSELY political, just for the record. Besides, heard the names Cooper, Miller, or ROVE lately?

I just don't get LONDON, unless it's for publicity, and NOT Habibist publicity. You could pull this off nine different ways from Sunday in New York which would create much more anti-Arab sentiment for Bush's war.

On the other hand, maybe they thought they needed a little extra OOMPH in England.

[in_cog_ni_to]

12. There was a young lady on CNN who was close to the bus bomb

and she said shrapnel was flying everywhere. We should know something soon, I'd think.

BOMB MADE IN IRAN....is my guess.

[Tyler Durden]

18. Not enough shrapnel casualties on the news yet.

Pieces of flying bus were likely what he saw. A Frag type bombing creates hundreds of casualties and you defeat the purpose if you put it inside something. It works best in the open: think abandoned brief case in a park or something similar.

[Ian David]

5. Here's some of my speculation

1) The media said that many people inside the trains were injured by flying glass. To me, that suggests the bombs were outside the trains because the glass was blown inward.

2) The media says the subway explosions all occurred between stations.

Therefore, it would appear that there were bombs placed outside the trains and they could not have been detonated from a bomb on a train platform and must have been placed by someone who gained access to the track between stations.

The fact is, the London subway seems more secure than any subway system in the United States that I have ever seen or heard of.

If THEY can't protect THEIR subway, then what chance do we have of protecting OURS?

Heck, in Boston there are platforms where you can't even find a live person manning the station!

Also, witnesses claim they saw "a bright, white flash" before the explosion. This is probably a stretch, but my guess is that the bombs were attached to electrical panels between stations. But I don't know enough about bombs to be very certain that this is the cause of the "bright, white flash."

[RandomKoolzip]

8. But doesn't glass fly in all directions?

I dunno.

Hmmmm....yer post was very interesting.

Here in Chicago, almost EVERY aboveground stop is unmanned, except in the booth on the ground. Anyone who buys a ticket can get inside the system and wreak havoc.

I'd like to read more about the bright flash before the explosion. That doesn't spell "suicide bomber" to me, which would rule that out.

[Tyler Durden]

21. Then definitely in the tunnel, not on the train.

Explosive overpressure would blow in the windows of the trains causing the glass injuries.

Shake and Bake low tech low efficiency shrapnel.

[gmaki]

23. Same here in LA

Metrolink stations are desinged to run unmanned. There are conductors on the train but usually no one manning the station.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Maybe not

The Edgware Road bomb occurred when one train was passing another. So glass injuries in that one would be expected for bombs inside a train too. If there were lots of glass injuries in the other ones, perhaps your theory is more relevant.

[Ian David]

16. Well, having never planted a bomb myself, I could very easily be wrong

Also, I forgot that there were instances where trains collided with the ones in front of them. Collisions between trains could result in glass blowing inward instead of outward.

I also have to wonder, if the tunnels were very narrow, maybe an explosion inside the train would first blow the glass out and then a second shock-wave off the sides of the tunnel might blow the glass back inward.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Could be

Tube tunnels are usually narrow - and the sides of the trains are curved, so I wouldn't be surprised if the broken glass didn't fall back on people inside.

[ComerPerro]

10. I was wondering that myself

[SmokingJacket]

17. London is COVERED with security cameras.

It will be interesting to see what they reveal.

[RandomKoolzip]

22. I was just thinking that, myself, when I posted this.

With so much surveillance, how can things like this happen?

[RandomKoolzip]

25. kick