Britain - Terrorists Were al Qaeda

And they may not have been suicide bombers.

Lots of new evidence in this Scotland on Sunday report.

INVESTIGATORS have established a firm link between al-Qaeda and the London bombers after an Islamist terrorist in jail in America identified the British man who led the murderous attacks 10 days ago.

Security officials in the United States have confirmed that self-confessed al-Qaeda member Mohammed Junaid Babar had admitted knowing Mohammed Sidique Khan, the oldest of the British bombers who killed at least 55 people.

Babar, who was arrested after returning from an al-Qaeda "terror summit" in Pakistan early last year, identified Khan from photographs shown to him late last week.

And

Babar himself is a Pakistani-American and self-confessed al-Qaeda "sleeper" agent who has already admitted to helping an earlier plot to blow up pubs, train stations and restaurants in Britain.

His links with Khan offer the most significant signal yet that Osama bin Laden's terror network was behind the London attacks, which have now claimed 55 lives.

But according to the BBC's "The Power of Nightmares" this is all just a myth.

There's more.

The reports on Babar appear to corroborate suggestions made last week by French police that there is a link between the July 7 bombings and the attack thwarted by British police in March last year in a co-ordinated raid codenamed Operation Crevice.

Babar, 30, quickly "turned" on his former colleagues once in custody and gave authorities information about a Pakistani terror cell's plot against London discos, bars and restaurants.

And surprise, surprise there is a link to Richard Reid.

Here is where it gets interesting.

Meanwhile, there is still some doubt whether the four London bombers committed suicide or were duped by their handlers into blowing themselves up in a bid to cover up the plot.

"We've never used the phrase 'suicide bombers'," a Scotland Yard spokesman said. "We've always been aware that amongst the things we need to clarify is the notion these people intended to die as well as letting off a bomb."

We know that in Iraq the terrorists dupe truck drivers into driving explosives from place to place and then, unbeknownst to the driver, blow them up remotely when near their target.

I've also read that the London terrorists had return train tickets to their destinations and a parking permit for their car.

The fourth bomber missed his train and therefore may not have set his timer to coincide with the others. He may in fact have set it off accidentally as eyewitness say he was seen "fiddling" with his backpack just prior to it going off. The fact that he was on the top floor of the bus and not on the bottom, where maximum damage would have occurred, would seem to support that.
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