In this morning's New York Times, we'll focus only on the London coverage (at the request of members).
Brandy notes Alan Cowell's "Subway and Bus Blasts in London Kill at Least 37:"
Bomb explosions tore through three subway trains and a red-painted double-decker bus in a coordinated terror attack during London's morning rush hour on Thursday, killing at least 37 people, wounding about 700 and leaving the city stunned and bloodied but oddly stoic.
[. . .]
The entire subway network was closed as rescue workers went deep below ground to look for the dead and wounded. Police officers in yellow slickers sealed off streets, and bus services were halted.
[. . .]
A group describing itself as being affiliated with Al Qaeda took responsibility for the attacks on a Web site, but the police said they were unable to confirm the authenticity of the claim. The group, the Secret Orgnization of Al Qaeda in Europe, said the attacks had been undertaken to avenge British involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Eli notes Don Van Natta Jr. and Elaine Sciolino's "Timers Used in Blasts, Police Say; Parallels to Madrid Are Found:"
Investigators searching for clues in the attacks here said Thursday that the three bombs used in the subway apparently were detonated by timers, not suicide bombers, and that a fourth device may have been intended for a target other than the city bus that it destroyed.
Senior police officials said they had not received a message claiming responsibility for the attacks from any group, and had made no arrests. But officials immediately drew parallels between the London bombings and the ones that struck commuter trains in Madrid 16 months ago, which were carried out by a Qaeda-inspired cell.
By Thursday night, there were far more questions than answers confronting Scotland Yard. One official said none of the scores of suspected terrorists being watched closely in England appeared to be involved.
Police and intelligence officials acknowledged that they were taken completely by surprise by the coordinated bombings, even though they had been anticipating a terrorist attack for years.
Kara notes Sarah Lyall's "An Umbrella in a Shower of a Million Bits That Had Been a Bus:"
It was the No. 30 bus, a double-decker. Moving slowly in the heavy rush-hour traffic, it stopped at Upper Woburn Place and Tavistock Square, not far from the British Museum. It was packed. Ms. Gardner began to get on.
And then it exploded.
"One minute the bus was there; the next minute it seemed to dissolve into millions of pieces," said Ms. Gardner, who works for a television distribution company. "I was showered with bits of metal and bits of the bus. I was shielding myself with my umbrella, and it all landed on my umbrella."
That explosion was only one of four to strike central London on Thursday morning. The others took place deep inside the subway system within 30 minutes of one another on three trains traveling in or out of some of the busiest stations in the city: Liverpool Street, King's Cross and Edgware Road. All the trains were crammed with commuters.
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