Group links al Qaeda to attacks 

A previously unknown group claimed responsibility in the name of al Qaeda for a series of deadly blasts in London, two news organisations reported.

The "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe" claimed responsibility for the attack in a website posting and warned Italy and Denmark to withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Italian news agency ANSA and al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper said.

The claim, also sent by email to the London-based daily, could not be verified and did not appear on any of the main Web sites normally used by al Qaeda.

"Heroic fighters of the Arab nation, it is time for revenge against the crusader and Zionist British government, in response to the massacre carried out by Great Britain in Iraq and Afghanistan," ANSA quoted the message as saying on a site it named as "el qal3ah.com".

"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."

It said the attacks took a long time to plan and required huge efforts in order to ensure their success.

"We are still warning the governments of Denmark and Italy that they will receive the same punishment if they do not pull out their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan," said the statement provided in Arabic to Reuters by al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper.

Emails sent by shadowy militant groups claiming responsibility for attacks in Europe have in the past proved to be unsubstantiated.

After the 2004 Madrid bombings a group claiming links to al Qaeda, the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, sent al-Quds al-Arabi an email claiming responsibility for the blasts which had not been officially linked to them.

The apparently co-ordinated blasts across London's transport network bear similarities to last year's Madrid bombings and suggest an attack in the style of al Qaeda, security analysts said.

The use of near-simultaneous attacks to cause maximum damage and panic is a tactic frequently used by al Qaeda, from the 1998 bombing of two US embassies in East Africa to the September 11 attacks on the United States with four hijacked airliners in 2001.

Since then, the pattern has been repeated in deadly attacks attributed to al Qaeda or like-minded Islamist militants in Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Saudia Arabia, Turkey and Spain.

The London blasts, at underground stations and on buses, had clear echoes of March 11, 2004, when 10 bombs hidden in sports bags exploded on four packed commuter trains in Madrid at the height of the morning rush hour, killing 191 people.

"There are lots of parallels with the Madrid blast...We have to assume it's a terrorist attack," said German security analyst Rolf Tophoven.

"The first thing that's very obvious is the synchronised nature of the attacks, and that's pretty classic for al Qaeda or al Qaeda-related organisations," said Budapest-based security analyst Sebestyen Gorka.

"If we're talking about several attacks on one day, then there's a good likelihood we're talking about a known quantity here...The similarities to Madrid are clear."

As with the Madrid attacks, which occurred three days before a general election, the London blasts appeared timed to coincide with a major political event.

They took place as leaders of the Group of Eight nations were meeting on the first full day of a summit in Scotland - an event which required its own massive security operation and drew heavily on police and counter-terrorist resources.

Britain has three decades of experience combating Northern Irish guerrilla violence but it has not until now suffered an Islamic militant attack, although police say they have thwarted several attempts and have said repeatedly a successful strike is only a matter of time.

Britain presents a likely target for Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and affiliated groups because Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has staunchly backed US President George Bush in the war on terrorism, including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Casualties from Thursday's attacks were unclear but they sent financial markets diving and threw London, Europe's biggest financial centre into chaos.

Propaganda messages from bin Laden have shown a keen awareness of the economic impact of al Qaeda attacks and attached importance to hitting economic targets and key infrastructure.