London on alert after explosives discovery

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Security across London has been increased after police on Friday discovered two cars filled with explosives.
Meanwhile, police increased patrols across London in a hunt for what they said is a man seen running from one of the cars on Friday.
British officials said hundreds of people could have been killed if the devices in the cars had been set off.
The first car was discovered parked near Piccadilly Circus; the second was found about an hour later, less than a kilometer away near Trafalgar Square.
Scotland Yard authorities said they believed the two incidents were connected.
On Friday, London police said the second discovered car -- containing fuel, gas canisters and nails -- was "clearly linked" to the first explosives-packed car found outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus, Metropolitan Police said.
A "considerable" amount of fuel and gas canisters, along with a "substantial quantity of nails," was found in the blue Mercedes 280E, said Peter Clarke, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, said about the second car.
He called the discovery of the second bomb "troubling," but urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious behavior to authorities.
The second vehicle was ticketed about 2:30 a.m. Friday (9:30 p.m. Thursday ET), Clarke said. It was near Trafalgar Square, roughly a half-mile from where the first vehicle -- also a Mercedes -- had been found about an hour earlier. (Watch how the second car was armed )
About 3:30 a.m., Clarke said, the Mercedes was taken to an impound lot in Hyde Park. Security sources earlier told CNN that workers who towed it thought the car smelled of gasoline, and became suspicious because of the reports that gasoline was among the explosive materials found in the first vehicle.
Clarke said the second device, like the first, was "potentially viable" but was rendered safe by police explosives officers.
"These vehicles are clearly linked," he said.
The first car, a silver Mercedes-Benz sedan, was discovered about 1:30 a.m. when an ambulance crew called to treat an ill person noticed what appeared to be smoke inside the car and notified authorities, London police said.
The car was parked in front of the Tiger Tiger club, and the discovery prompted the closing of several streets until the vehicle was hauled off nine hours later.
"In the car, they found significant quantities of petrol together with a number of gas cylinders," Clarke said. He could not immediately say how much fuel was there.
"I can tell you it was in several large containers," Clarke said. "There were also a large number of nails in the vehicle."
He said explosives officers manually disabled "a potential means of detonation for the gas and the fuel in the vehicle," which preserved crucial forensic evidence for investigators.
A cell phone was found as part of the device in the silver car, according to security sources with knowledge of the investigation, although it was not immediately known what role the cell phone may have played in the device. The sources said the device was apparently set up to be remotely detonated.
Metropolitan Police Counterterrorism Command officers are reviewing closed-circuit security camera video to see if they can determine who parked the car there, Clarke said.
London has a long history of bomb attacks and alerts during decades of violence mounted by Northern Irish guerrilla groups. Lone attackers also have previously targeted the city's gay and immigrant communities. (Timeline of attacks)
Friday's incident came days ahead of the second anniversary of July 7, 2005, when four Islamic extremist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport system in the deadliest strike on the city since World War II.
Witness Daniel Weir said he was walking home from work when he noticed police had cordoned off the area around the nightclub and a nearby vehicle.
He snapped several photos, including one that showed a canister labeled "patio gas." (See the photos)
Clarke said it was too early to determine if the smoke the ambulance crew saw was an indication that the car bomb had been activated but failed to explode.
While Clarke would not speculate that Tiger Tiger was the target, he said "some features of what's happened resonate with previous plots."
"In one previous case we heard talk about nightclubs potentially becoming targets. ... We, of course, saw reference to vehicles being filled with gas or fuel in order to create an explosion," he said.
There had been no intelligence warning of an attack, he said.
"It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been significant injury or loss of life," Clarke said. "The vehicle was parked in one of the busiest parts of central London in the early hours of Friday morning when many, many people were leaving nightclubs and other places after the evening hours." (Watch police describe potential blast )
British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, "We're currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism."
The bombs were found just two days after new Prime Minister Gordon Brown took office, and one day after he appointed members of his Cabinet. (Full story)
"For Gordon Brown, it is a rude awakening to the realities you take on as prime minister," CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley said. (Watch Oakley comment on 'rude awakening' for Brown )
Brown, whose predecessor, Tony Blair, stoked anger among Islamic militants with his support for the Iraq war, said Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the public "need to be alert" at all times.
The incident also came days ahead of the second anniversary of July 7, 2005, when four Islamic extremist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport system in the deadliest strike on the city since World War II.

Shuttle completes mission in California

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) -- Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely Thursday, ending a two-week mission to deliver an addition to the international space station and bring home a crew member from the outpost.
Atlantis had to use its backup landing strip in California after rain and clouds over Florida ruled out Kennedy Space Center.
"We couldn't quite get comfortable with [Kennedy]," Mission Control told the Atlantis crew. "We are going to target Edwards."
The crew executed the landing on its first opportunity at Edwards at 3:49 p.m. ET.
Rain and clouds that scrubbed a planned Thursday landing in Florida continued Friday, and NASA waved off the first planned landing there, which would have been at 2:18 p.m. ET.
The landing site at Edwards had clear skies, and wind gusts there were not expected to pick up until late in the day.
"Our mind-set down here is we're going to land you somewhere safely today," Mission Control told the shuttle crew Friday morning.
Aboard Atlantis, the astronauts closed the shuttle's payload bay doors in preparation for landing. The doors are opened during flights so heat doesn't build up in the orbiter.
Atlantis commander Rick Sturckow said the crew would put on their orange spacesuits for landing.
"That sounds great, Houston," Sturckow said. "We're going to suit up then."
Among the crew returning to Earth was astronaut Sunita "Sunni" Williams, who spent 195 days on the space station, a women's endurance record.
The crew had three chances Friday to land at Edwards, the last at 6:59 p.m. ET. If the weather had spoiled all those opportunities, mission managers would have tried again Saturday, with another backup landing site in New Mexico in the lineup.
The preferred landing site is Kennedy, where it is easier and far cheaper to get Atlantis to its hangar to be prepared for its next mission in December.
Lands in California means it will cost $1.7 million and take up to 10 days to get it home to Florida aboard a jumbo jet.
Atlantis had enough power for its systems to orbit until Sunday, but managers didn't want to wait that long. The flight would have been extended to Sunday only if technical problems needed to be fixed.
During Atlantis' two chances to land Thursday, showers were within 34 miles of the landing strip at Kennedy Space Center, and clouds hung below an altitude of 8,000 feet, both violations of flight rules.
During the crew's 14-day mission to the international space station, the astronauts installed a new truss segment, unfurled a new pair of power-generating solar arrays and activated a rotating joint that allows the new solar arrays to track the sun.
Originally scheduled for 11 days, the mission was extended by two days to give astronauts time to repair a thermal blanket that had peeled away during the June 8 launch. Astronaut Danny Olivas stapled it back into place during a spacewalk. Another extra day in orbit was added after the weather in Florida prevented a landing Thursday.
The shuttle's visit to the space station was complicated by the crash of Russian computers that control orientation and oxygen production. (Watch how the cosmonauts fixed the computers )
Atlantis helped the station maintain its orientation for several days until the computers were revived. Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov used a cable to bypass a circuit board.
The cosmonauts at the space station attempted to power the Russian computers Thursday without using the cable bypass, but it was unsuccessful.

Abbas outlaws Hamas militia forces

(CNN) -- The leadership rift between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah deepened Sunday as President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a temporary cabinet for his emergency government in an attempt to regain control of the region.
Abbas also issued a decree stating that the Hamas militia and the Hamas executive force were outlawed, although an Abbas adviser said he was not outlawing the Islamic Hamas movement.
Soon after ministers were sworn in, Hamas said the government was "illegal" and outside the authority of Fatah movement leader Abbas.
The emergency cabinet replaces the Hamas-Fatah coalition Abbas dismantled after Hamas took control of Gaza by force this week. The new cabinet in the West Bank will be led by economist Salam Fayyad, who replaces Ismail Haniya as Palestinian prime minister
But Haniya's top adviser, Ahmed Youssef, told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that "there is nothing in the (Palestinian) constitution" that outlines an emergency government.
"There is a state of emergency but there is nothing called 'emergency government,'" Youssef said.
He said the move was "just a mistake" made by Abbas. Abbas declared a state of emergency as Hamas fighters seized control of Gaza last week.
According to Abbas and his Fatah allies, the president has the power to dissolve the government and form a temporary cabinet after calling for a state of emergency. The Palestinian Legislative Council must convene to vote on the cabinet after a 30-day period. While Hamas has gained control of Gaza, Fatah is trying to consolidate its power in the West Bank.
Fatah official Saeb Erakat denied that there were two Palestinian governments, but made it clear that the newly appointed cabinet's first priority would be to prevent the spread of the "chaos and lawlessness" in Gaza.
"We will not allow ... the catastrophe that's happened in Gaza to reach the West Bank, that's number one," Fatah official Saeb Erakat told CNN's "Late Edition."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the formation of a new Palestinian government creates an "opportunity" for renewed peace moves, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
"We have a new opportunity in the last few days that we haven't had in a long time," Olmert told reporters shortly before taking off for New York. "A government that is not Hamas is a partner."
Hundreds flee
Humanitarian groups are concerned about the isolation of Gaza and its Hamas rulers.
The international community led by the United States cut off international funding to the Palestinian government after Hamas -- which does not recognize Israel's right to exist -- took power last year.
Israeli human rights groups are appealing for the Israeli government to reopen its border crossings with Gaza to allow food and medical relief supplies, one of the groups, called B'Tselem, announced Sunday.
In addition, B'Tselem said, "Hundreds of refugees are attempting to escape the violence and are trapped in Erez Crossing, caught between IDF soldiers and the military wing of Hamas which is preventing these refugees from returning to Gaza."
Karni Crossing, the main Israel-Gaza border crossing, has been closed for six days. According to B'Tselem, Erez crossing was closed on Saturday and Nahal Oz was closed on Sunday.
In addition, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been closed since last weekend.
Talks are under way with Israeli officials about getting the borders open for humanitarian relief, the director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, John Ging, told CNN.
Fuel supplies cut
The sole supplier of gasoline for motorists in Gaza has announced it will no longer provide gasoline to stations there in the wake of the Hamas takeover.
The Israeli fuel company Dor Alon said that the company will continue to supply gasoline to Gaza's electricity power plant, a spokeswoman said.
The Dor Alon spokeswoman would not say what prompted Sunday's announcement, however, its supply agreement is with the Palestinian Authority which no longer is in control of Gaza.
The company had threatened to cut off gasoline supplies in the past over non-payment issues.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rift seen in Iraq insurgency -- some groups reject al Qaeda

BUHRUZ, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces have begun arming nationalist guerrillas and former Saddam Hussein loyalists -- and coordinating tactics -- in a marriage of convenience against al Qaeda radicals in one of Iraq's most violent provinces, senior U.S. commanders tell CNN.
This new alliance, a result of the deepening divisions among Iraqi insurgent factions, was on display earlier this week at a highway intersection in the town of Tahrir. There, a group of some 15 insurgents publicly chanted: "Death to al Qaeda."
"The al Qaeda organization has dominated and humiliated Sunnis, Shiites and jihadis. It has forced people from their homes. They can't get enough blood. They killed many honest scholars, preachers and loyal mujahedeen," one of the group's spokesmen read from a written manifesto.
It's a sharp turnaround from just two months ago when the same insurgent forces were focused on fighting U.S. troops and driving them out of Diyala province, about 40 miles north of Baghdad.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Multi-National Division North, believes U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam and Latin America offer precedents for the strategy he is now pushing in this region of Iraq. (Watch how insurgents are turning against al Qaeda )
"We've seen this in previous counterinsurgency operations, using local nationals, arming them and forming them into scouts," he told CNN. "That's the primary role we want to use them in. They know the territory. They know the enemy."
The changing strategy isn't just confined to Diyala, according to U.S. officials. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told CNN Thursday that tribal forces in Anbar, the restive Sunni province west of the Iraqi capital, have "decided to oppose al Qaeda and fight with the coalition forces against them."
"What's taken place in Anbar is almost breathtaking," he said. "In the last several months, tribes that turned a blind eye to what al Qaeda was doing in that province are now opposing al Qaeda very vigorously. And the level of violence in Anbar has plummeted, although there clearly is still work to be done." (Full story)
At the highway intersection in Tahrir, the insurgents said they had named their anti-al Qaeda alliance the United Jihad Council. They said the newly formed council was an umbrella organization of smaller insurgent units, including the 1920s Brigades, the Mujahedeen Army, Islamic Army and the Salaheddin Brigades.
CNN videotaped gunmen posting lookouts on rooftops throughout Tahrir and patting down civilians -- checking for potential al Qaeda infiltrators -- as they made their way to prayers at local mosques.
Locals say al Qaeda amputated fingers for smoking
Nationalist insurgents say al Qaeda excesses are behind their falling-out. Several sources said al Qaeda members burned a 7-year-old child alive and murdered women and other children in the towns and villages around the provincial capital of Baquba. They did not give names or dates to back up their claims.
"They [al Qaeda] ruled with tyranny. They really harmed our town, so we had to stop them, and they left, no return," said one young gunman, who claimed membership in the nationalist 1920s Brigades.
Other civilian and insurgent sources in the towns of Tahrir and neighboring Buhruz said al Qaeda had imposed strict regulations, including a ban on smoking -- punishable by the amputation of a finger or hand -- and a curfew on citizens walking in the streets after 4 p.m.
Some citizens said al Qaeda had even banned Friday prayers.
Based on anecdotal evidence, offered by civilians in Buhruz, al Qaeda was financing its military operations by forcing citizens to pay a "war tax," as well as by kidnapping for ransom, selling smuggled fuel on the black market, and even using forced labor to harvest oranges and dates from sprawling plantations throughout the region.
In Buhruz, Capt. Ben Richards is one of the U.S. field commanders cementing the U.S. military alliance with its former foes from the nationalist insurgent factions. He said the new strategy was highly pragmatic. (Watch a marriage of convenience )
"If we go in with the mindset that every one of these persons has tried to kill an American, I don't think that's true, though in many cases it may be. But if you think that, then you're setting yourself up for a mindset that is not productive for us or for the Iraqi people," Richards, commander of a troop of Stryker combat vehicles, told CNN.
Richards described assistance from the former insurgent factions and what he calls other "concerned local nationals" as "militarily crucial."
His key ally in the region is a man known as Abu Ali, who says he has never belonged to an insurgent force but was an officer in one of Saddam Hussein's feared military intelligence units.
To date, Abu Ali says he has received 39 weapons and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the U.S. military. The insurgent factions he represents, however, are known to have significant arsenals of their own weapons, including light machine guns, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
Publicly, Abu Ali is grateful for the assistance he and his followers have received from the U.S. military. He predicts he can help clear the entire province of al Qaeda militants within six months if the U.S. Army provides more ammunition and supports insurgent operations with air cover and help from tanks and armored personnel carriers.
But while the marriage of convenience may be successful for now, Abu Ali and his followers seem to have no intention of making a lasting commitment to the Americans.
"After we are done with al Qaeda," Abu Ali says, "we will ask the Americans to withdraw from Iraq. ... If they do not withdraw, there will be violations and the American army will be harmed."
He adds, "Especially after the help the U.S. Army has provided us, we would like them to go home as our friend, not enemy."
With the alliance only beginning to bear its first successes, few U.S. commanders seem to be looking toward the end of the affair. But there is a realization that it is a balancing act -- to prevent al Qaeda infiltration and to maintain the collaboration of nationalist insurgents.

ID cards of missing soldiers shown on insurgent Web site

(CNN) -- A Sunni insurgent group on Monday posted video of the military identification cards of two missing American soldiers in Iraq.
The video also carries an audio commentary in Arabic in which the speaker says, without providing any proof, "We decided to put an end to this matter and announce the death of the soldiers."
According to the commentary, the group made the move because the U.S. military did not heed its demand to end the search for the soldiers.
CNN cannot independently verify the video, which was intercepted by terrorism expert Laura Mansfield.
The video is from the Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgent group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq.
The video included a still image of the photo identifications of Spc. Alex R. Jimenez , 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan. (Watch how soldiers' ID cards ended up on Web site )
Above the photos, written in Arabic, was the message, "Bush is the reason for the loss of your prisoners."
The images appear to be authentic U.S. military identification cards, a military official in Washington said.
Military officials recently had received information that video or images related to the missing soldiers might appear on the Internet and contacted their families to inform them, U.S. military sources said.
Jimenez and Fouty went missing along with Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California, following a May 12 ambush on a military observation post south of Baghdad. Four American soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed in the attack.
On May 23, Anzack's body was pulled from the Euphrates River in Babil province, south of Baghdad.
The 10-minute video also included footage of a masked man at a diagram board -- apparently the planning stage of the attack -- followed by nighttime video of an apparent attack, and video from Arabic-language TV network Al-Jazeera of soldiers searching fields.
Images of what appear to be the missing soldiers' personal effects -- including Visa and Mastercard credit cards, a cross, $50 U.S. bills and Iraqi currency -- are shown at the end of the video.
The video concludes with images apparently taken from the identification cards of the two soldiers.
Gordon Dibler, Fouty's stepfather, said a military official visited him Saturday and told him that video of some of Fouty's personal effects -- including his ID and credit cards -- might appear on the Internet.
Dibler described the news of the video as "a double-edged sword."
"I was frightened of course to await the news, but it gives me some hope," he said.
"We don't know if these people didn't just find these items lying around. I'm hopeful of their return, and I'll keep asking the nation to pray."
Jimenez's mother, Maria Duran, said that the Pentagon hadn't contacted her family.
The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for last month's ambush and called on the U.S. military to halt its search for the missing soldiers.
CNN's Maria Dugandzic, Ines Ferre, Octavia Nasr and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Thai army: Suspected terror attacks kill 15

PATTANI, Thailand (AP) -- Suspected insurgents sprayed gunfire into a mosque, killing at least five worshippers, and a roadside bomb killed 10 paramilitary troops in near simultaneous attacks in southern Thailand, the army said.
The bomb exploded Thursday on a road in Bannang Sata district in Yala province as government-hired paramilitary rangers drove by, killing 10 of them, said Thai Army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote.
Two rangers were slightly wounded and the truck was damaged, Akara said.
The rangers had earlier been negotiating with Muslim protesters in a nearby district, he said. The whole area has been under a military curfew since a deadly bombing at a mosque and a grenade attack on a tea shop that left 10 people dead and wounded more than 20 on March 14.
Almost immediately after the bombing, an unknown number of assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim villagers leaving a mosque after evening prayers in nearby Sabayoi district of Songkhla province, killing five villagers, Akara said.
It was not immediately clear why the worshippers were attacked but officials blamed Muslim rebels.
"The insurgents opened fire on the Muslim villagers and put the blame on the authorities," Akara said.
He did not explain why he suspected Muslims had attacked the mosque.
Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but Muslims are a majority in the deep south, where they have long complained of discrimination.
Buddhists living and working in southern Thailand have been the targets of Muslim insurgents. However, Muslims -- mostly working for the government -- have increasingly fallen victim to the violence in recent months.
Thai military authorities have blamed such attacks on Muslims bent on intensifying hatred against the government and to radicalize Muslims and push them into joining the insurgency.
Some Muslims believe the security forces, or even Buddhist vigilantes, might have a hand in the attacks.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in the three southernmost provinces in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,200 people.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.