U.S. urges caution after bomb discovery in London

Americans living and traveling abroad should be vigilant to suspicious activity, U.S. Embassy officials in London say.

By Matthew Lee, Associated Press
08:14 AM PDT, June 29, 2007

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The U.S. government urged Americans to exercise caution after British police defused two powerful bombs today found near Piccadilly Circus in downtown London.

The incident "serves as a reminder to all Americans living and traveling abroad to remain aware of their surroundings at all times and be vigilant to suspicious activity," the U.S. Embassy in London said in a statement.

London police acted early today after an ambulance crew in the Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus, reported seeing smoke coming from a car that turned out to be loaded with gas cylinders, nails and a detonator.

The area, packed with restaurants, bars, a cinema complex and theaters, was busy at that hour.

The first bomb was powerful enough to have caused "significant injury or loss of life," possibly killing hundreds, said Peter Clarke, British anti-terror police chief.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said it was too early to say whether the foiled attack was strictly a British threat.

"At this point, you can't draw conclusions about what it may or may not mean about plotting against the U.S.," the official said. "Concern about that kind of plotting is always there."

Officially, the U.S. government said it saw no potential terrorist threat in the U.S. ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

"At this time we are characterizing this as a localized incident in London," said Laura Keehner, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. "We encourage the public to enjoy the upcoming holiday but ask, as always, that they be vigilant and report suspicious activity to authorities."

President Bush was briefed on the incident by national security advisor Stephen Hadley in Maine, where the president is at his family's home to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and Monday.

London has been a terrorist target before. On July 7, 2005, four bombs exploded in the city's transit system, and investigators found that attack had links to terrorists in Pakistan.