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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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When laughter turned to terror
Source: Agencies |
October 12, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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WITNESSES saw suicide bombers who attacked London's transport system on July 7, 2005 smiling and laughing as they traveled to the city to commit mass murder, a lawyer told a long-awaited investigation yesterday.
Hugo Keith told a coroner's inquest into the deaths of 52 commuters that travelers described the four men as "smiling and laughing and generally relaxed," as they took a train with knapsacks packed with explosives.
The inquest at London's Royal Courts of Justice opened with a minute's silence in memory of the victims of one of Britain's deadliest terrorist attacks.
Keith, chief counsel to the inquest, read out the names of all those who died when the four British Muslim bombers detonated devices on three subway trains and a double-decker bus.
He said the bombs struck down British nationals as well as foreigners "with no regard to whether the victim was Christian, Muslim, a follower of any of our other great faiths, an adherent to none.
"They were acts of merciless savagery which could only outline the sheer inhumanity of the perpetrators."
The date of the attacks - "7/7" - has been seared into Britons' memories. But Keith said the bombings may have been planned for the day before.
He said a mobile phone recovered from one bomb site showed that ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan sent a text to another attacker at 4:35am on July 6, saying: "Having major problem. Cannot make time. Will ring you when I get it sorted."
Keith said Khan visited a hospital with his wife on July 5 because of complications with her pregnancy.
She had a miscarriage on the day of the attacks.
It was one of a string of startling new details revealed in Keith's opening statement.
He said a piece of paper recovered from the pocket of bomber Jermaine Linsday mentioned journey times to Paddington, Westminster and Bond Street stations.
Paddington is a major railway station, Bond Street the city's ritziest shopping district and Westminster the stop for the Houses of Parliament.
Three of the bombs exploded elsewhere on the subway system. The closure of one subway line meant the fourth bomber carried his device onto a bus, where it killed 13 people.
Keith said the bombers prepared to fight police if intercepted, carrying bombs which could be thrown and a semiautomatic handgun.
He also said a man resembling Lindsay approached an employee at King's Cross station and said he wanted to speak to the duty manager about something "very important." He disappeared before anyone could talk to him.
The hearings are expected to last five months and will look at whether the emergency services' response was adequate and whether intelligence services and police could have prevented the attacks.
Hugo Keith told a coroner's inquest into the deaths of 52 commuters that travelers described the four men as "smiling and laughing and generally relaxed," as they took a train with knapsacks packed with explosives.
The inquest at London's Royal Courts of Justice opened with a minute's silence in memory of the victims of one of Britain's deadliest terrorist attacks.
Keith, chief counsel to the inquest, read out the names of all those who died when the four British Muslim bombers detonated devices on three subway trains and a double-decker bus.
He said the bombs struck down British nationals as well as foreigners "with no regard to whether the victim was Christian, Muslim, a follower of any of our other great faiths, an adherent to none.
"They were acts of merciless savagery which could only outline the sheer inhumanity of the perpetrators."
The date of the attacks - "7/7" - has been seared into Britons' memories. But Keith said the bombings may have been planned for the day before.
He said a mobile phone recovered from one bomb site showed that ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan sent a text to another attacker at 4:35am on July 6, saying: "Having major problem. Cannot make time. Will ring you when I get it sorted."
Keith said Khan visited a hospital with his wife on July 5 because of complications with her pregnancy.
She had a miscarriage on the day of the attacks.
It was one of a string of startling new details revealed in Keith's opening statement.
He said a piece of paper recovered from the pocket of bomber Jermaine Linsday mentioned journey times to Paddington, Westminster and Bond Street stations.
Paddington is a major railway station, Bond Street the city's ritziest shopping district and Westminster the stop for the Houses of Parliament.
Three of the bombs exploded elsewhere on the subway system. The closure of one subway line meant the fourth bomber carried his device onto a bus, where it killed 13 people.
Keith said the bombers prepared to fight police if intercepted, carrying bombs which could be thrown and a semiautomatic handgun.
He also said a man resembling Lindsay approached an employee at King's Cross station and said he wanted to speak to the duty manager about something "very important." He disappeared before anyone could talk to him.
The hearings are expected to last five months and will look at whether the emergency services' response was adequate and whether intelligence services and police could have prevented the attacks.
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