Terrorism experts warn risk of repeat attacks is high

Jim Caldwell

Dr Andrew Silke said comparisons with the terror cell responsible for the Madrid bombings in March last year suggested it was highly likely the July 7 bombers will attempt to spill more blood.

Investigators remained silent on suspects, but reports in London newspapers identified a possible suspect as Mustafa Setmarian Nasar a Syrian with Spanish nationality who is suspected of being al-Qaida's operations chief in Europe and the alleged mastermind of last year's Madrid railway bombings.

London police refused to comment, but a US official said that both nations were trying to locate Nasar.

"He has been a longtime and well-known bad guy terrorist, and involved in terrorist circles," Fran Townsend, US President George W Bush's homeland security adviser, told Fox TV.

Newspapers claim Spanish officials had warned their British counterparts that Nasa was planning an attack in London.

Police said three men all Britons arriving at Heathrow airport were arrested early Sunday, but immediately dismissed speculation of their having a break in the investigation. The three were released late on Sunday night.

British intelligence officials met over the weekend with their counterparts from the US, Canada and about two dozen European countries to brief them on the attacks and the investigation.

Security officials in Poland yesterday searched the home of a British citizen of Pakistani origin in the eastern Polish city of Lublin in connection with the bombings.

Poland's Internal Security Agency did not release the man's name and he was not arrested.

Meanwhile, a man with British and Moroccan nationality mentioned as a possible suspect told The Guardian newspaper in an interview published yesterday that he had nothing to do with the blasts.

"Over 30 years I have lived in Britain, I have never been involved in violence or crime," said Mohamed Guerbouzi, who was convicted in absentia in Morocco in 2003 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the Casablanca terrorist bombings.

Dr Silke said there was a "genuinely high risk" of further attacks.

"In the case of the Madrid bombers, they were hanging around with the intent to carry out more attacks. They were only prevented from doing so because the police were able to identify and catch them quickly.

"The Spanish police were extremely fortunate in that one of the bombs had not exploded and gave them forensic evidence to close in on the bombers."