World condemns 'barbaric' terror attacks

Terrorists brought carnage to London today with a series of bombs that killed and maimed scores of people.

There were three co-ordinated blasts on the Tube network and a bus packed with commuters was ripped apart in what Tony Blair called a “barbaric” string of attacks.

The onslaught was unleashed on the day that G8 world leaders met at Gleneagles.

A group calling itself the Secret Organization Group of al Qaida of Jihad Organization in Europe claimed responsibility for the attacks on an Islamic website.

The message said: “O nation of Islam and nation of Arabism: Rejoice for it is time to take revenge from the British Zionist Crusader Government in retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The heroic mujahidin have carried out a blessed raid in London. Britain is now burning with fear, terror, and panic in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters.”

The outrage echoed the vicious al Qaida assault on Madrid commuters in 2004 in which almost 200 people died.

In the hours afterwards, there was no official death toll from the London bombs, but witnesses saw piles of bodies on wrecked Tube trains and the bus was torn to pieces.

The day of death and chaos prompted the Prime Minister to vow that the terrorists would never win.

“Whatever they do it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and other civilised nations in the world,” he said.

Mr Blair said he would be leaving the G8 summit for London in the wake of the attacks, but the summit would go on.

Before he left, the G8 leaders appeared side-by-side with Mr Blair to condemn the “barbaric” attacks.

As the scale of the attack became clear, ministers attending the regular Thursday cabinet meeting convened an emergency Cobra committee to deal with the crisis.

The terror attacks began with a series of co-ordinated blasts on the Tube network.

Two hours later paramedics were still rushing to the scenes of the blasts deep underground.

At Liverpool Street Station in the City, the wounded were treated by medics as they lay on the concourse.

It was the same at King’s Cross while the Hilton Metropole on the Edgware Road was used as a makeshift treatment centre.

The bus blast happened in Woburn Place, close to Tavistock Square and Russell Square. The double decker’s roof was torn off and nearby cars were also damaged.

Eyewitnesses said there were many fatalities as the bus was packed with people forced off the underground when the network was shut down.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said there had been three blasts on the Tube network between Russell Square and King’s Cross, between Aldgate and Liverpool Street, and at Edgware Road station.