London bombed, 4 near simultaneous explosions

Three bombs were placed in the Underground, and one was on a double-deck Bus. Mass casualties are being reported.

A new group, the "Secret Organization - al-Qaida in Europe" claims responsibility.

I note that this is indicates that this may not be Al Qaida, but a group inspired by Al Qaida. If this is the reality, our nations screwed up efforts to fight terror has instead resulted in a spread of terror.

In response, Tony Blair call the attack 'barbaric' (a rather obvious statement), and is flying back to London for a visit. He plans on returning to the G-8 later in the day.

George has come out, and has already tried to make political hay over this attack.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, had this to say:

"This is not an attack against the rich and powerful. It is not an attack on the politicians, but on the common working people of London," Livingstone told reporters in the Asian city where he spearheaded London's winning bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Addressing those behind the bomb blasts, he said: "We have seen that you are not afraid to take your own lives but what you did is just mass murder."

He added: "I can tell you now that you will fail in your long-term objectives to destroy our free society."

"In the days that follow, look at our airports and seaports, and even after your cowardly attacks, you will still see people from around the world coming to London to achieve their dreams."

Bartholomew has some information on who may be behind this attack.

A previously unknown group claimed responsibility in the name of al Qaeda for a series of blasts in London, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

The "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe" claimed the attack in a Web site posting and warned Italy and Denmark to withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The claim could not be verified and did not appear on any of the Web sites normally used by al Qaeda…ANSA quoted the message as saying on a site it named as "el qal3ah.com".

and more information on who may be the head of this group.

These names are of concern, as they are believed to be associated with terrorist Saad Rashed Mohammed Al-Fagih.

Al-Fagih has been associated with Al Qaida and the global jihad since the mid-1990's. On 21 December, 2004, Al-Fagih was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States. Al-Fagih's associates have included Osama bin Laden, Khaled al Fawwaz, Mustafa Setmariam Naser, Lewis Attiyatullah, Mohammed al-Massari and Ziyad Khalil.

Al-Fagih provided logistical support for the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa[8]. In addition, and in particular since Sept. 11, 2001, Al-Fagih has been at the forefront of efforts to promote the global jihad by maintaining online communities of Islamic extremists and facilitating communications among Islamic extremists around the globe. He does this both under the cover of his MIRA organization, aka Al-Islah, and through a separate online entity known commonly as ‘The Castle' or Al-Qal3ah.

Flickr has some photographs

Homeland defense has responded in the US.

Commuter services and Railways have had threat level elevated to orange.

Everyone else is still