It was 9.30 am when the first stages of a dramatic day in the hunt for the suspected would-be suicide-bombers began to unfold. Armed police, both plainclothes and uniformed, headed for west London. Their information was that at least two would-be suicide-bomb suspects were holed up in two separate addresses and they wanted to bring both of them in alive.
In Tavistock Crescent, near Westbourne Park underground station in west London, neighbours described hearing what sounded like gunshots at about 11 am.
Charlotte Brown (16), a student, was at home alone when she heard five or six loud bangs and saw armed police targeting a flat directly below her.
Her mother, Mary, a medical secretary, said that a second-floor flat in the block had also been broken into by police.
Charlotte said that a family with two young children, thought to be from Somalia, had lived in the basement flat for about a year: "They seemed perfectly normal, very nice neighbours in fact."
As police moved in, there had been five or six really loud bangs which sounded like gunshots. "I was quite scared, so I didn't look out of the window," Charlotte said. "Over the next hour, I heard shouting from the garden, where there were police. They were saying something about containers."
By noon, the police had the man they were looking for, a suspect they believe was linked to an unexploded bomb abandoned and found by a member of the public in Little Wormwood Scrubs last Saturday.
Further west, at the Peabody estate, sandwiched between the Rootes and the Sutton estates and close to the recreation ground where the unexploded bomb was found, a siege was under way. Armed police, their weapons drawn, sought to try to persuade the man they were calling Muhammad to come out from a flat.
Zehra Burhan had noticed more police around than usual in the middle of the morning. Rapidly, more armed officers in body armour flooded the area around Dalgarno Gardens. At midday, a thundering explosion was heard.
Ms Burhan said: "When the explosion went off, I heard them say 'Come out, this is the police'."
The assault team then began to attack a flat on the fourth flour of Block K of the estate, which residents say was occupied by several Somali men.
Josephine Knight (55), who lives opposite, said she had seen a man dressed like a bus driver being taken away with his hands bound by white plastic ties.
Ms Knight said that the first loud explosion had blown the doors off the flat. Soon after the explosion a man in his 40s had come out with his hands up and was led away. Police then warned those remaining inside that they would fire CS gas into the flat. When no one emerged, they did.
Police sealed off the estate, trapping a number of children inside the flats. Some residents said that they had run for cover while police were pointing guns at them.
Paul Carroll (35) was trapped inside his flat just 20 metres away: "Armed police blew the door down. They put black masking tape on the door, then they blew it off. Later, they fired tear-gas into the flat. Twenty of them rushed in, taking aim at the flat."
Witnesses said they had heard police shouting at those inside and shouting at the man they called Muhammad, urging him to come out.
One witness said: "Police were shouting: 'Muhammad, come out with your hands up.' The man replied: 'If I do, you'll shoot me'."
By this time police assault teams and officers in biochemical suits were also on top of the flat.
At about 1.30 pm four further bangs were heard as police blew off other sets of doors and prepared to end the siege by force.
Witnesses said that the final occupants of the flat emerged bare-chested at about 2.30 pm. Officers told them to take off their trouser bottoms, to check for concealed weapons or explosives, and the men obeyed. They then walked along the balcony to police, put on white paper suits and were led away.
At 3.05 pm a police van sped through the protective cordon with a man in the back seat, his face covered by a fluorescent yellow jacket.
The operation had been successfully concluded and police had arrested two suspects, Muktar Said-Ibrahim, the suspected bus-bomber, and a man named by police sources as Ramsi Muhammad, the suspected Oval bomber.
A small number of soldiers from the SAS had been present to offer "technical assistance" to the police - an apparent reference to stun grenades. They were from an SAS squadron based at Hereford, specially trained in counter-terrorist operations.
On the other side of the city, it was a busy Friday lunchtime at Liverpool Street station when plainclothes armed police swooped on two women, described by one witness as "one of African and one of Asian origin and wearing Muslim dress", one of whom was apparently standing in a queue at the ticket machine.
Travellers watched in amazement as the women were made to lie face downwards and put their hands behind their backs. They were handcuffed and taken away for questioning.
One of the women had a rucksack with her, according to one witness, and the other a small box. Both the mainline and underground stations were closed and travellers were evacuated, many having to abandon their journeys while the seized items were checked. No explosives were found and the station was later reopened.
Arthur Yeroshin, who works as a shoe-cleaner on the station platform, said: "There was panic, the girls ran away and the police pushed them to the floor. They kept them there for five or six minutes and then took them away with their bags."
At about 4.15 pm yesterday, two hours after the arrests, Liverpool Street underground station was closed in what police described as a "firearms incident". Less than 10 minutes later, the armed unit returned to the concourse and the station was reopened.
It was at this point that news came of the arrest in Rome of Hussein Osman, the man wanted in connection with the bomb attempt at Shepherd's Bush.
Seven hours after one of the biggest and most important operations launched by Scotland Yard was set in motion all five suspects in the July 21st attempted bomb attack on the capital were in custody. - (Guardian Service)
t was 9.30 am when the first stages of a dramatic day in the hunt for the suspected would-be suicide-bombers began to unfold. Armed police, both plainclothes and uniformed, headed for west London. Their information was that at least two would-be suicide-bomb suspects were holed up in two separate addresses and they wanted to bring both of them in alive.
In Tavistock Crescent, near Westbourne Park underground station in west London, neighbours described hearing what sounded like gunshots at about 11 am.
Charlotte Brown (16), a student, was at home alone when she heard five or six loud bangs and saw armed police targeting a flat directly below her.
Her mother, Mary, a medical secretary, said that a second-floor flat in the block had also been broken into by police.
Charlotte said that a family with two young children, thought to be from Somalia, had lived in the basement flat for about a year: "They seemed perfectly normal, very nice neighbours in fact."
As police moved in, there had been five or six really loud bangs which sounded like gunshots. "I was quite scared, so I didn't look out of the window," Charlotte said. "Over the next hour, I heard shouting from the garden, where there were police. They were saying something about containers."
By noon, the police had the man they were looking for, a suspect they believe was linked to an unexploded bomb abandoned and found by a member of the public in Little Wormwood Scrubs last Saturday.
Further west, at the Peabody estate, sandwiched between the Rootes and the Sutton estates and close to the recreation ground where the unexploded bomb was found, a siege was under way. Armed police, their weapons drawn, sought to try to persuade the man they were calling Muhammad to come out from a flat.
Zehra Burhan had noticed more police around than usual in the middle of the morning. Rapidly, more armed officers in body armour flooded the area around Dalgarno Gardens. At midday, a thundering explosion was heard.
Ms Burhan said: "When the explosion went off, I heard them say 'Come out, this is the police'."
The assault team then began to attack a flat on the fourth flour of Block K of the estate, which residents say was occupied by several Somali men.
Josephine Knight (55), who lives opposite, said she had seen a man dressed like a bus driver being taken away with his hands bound by white plastic ties.
Ms Knight said that the first loud explosion had blown the doors off the flat. Soon after the explosion a man in his 40s had come out with his hands up and was led away. Police then warned those remaining inside that they would fire CS gas into the flat. When no one emerged, they did.
Police sealed off the estate, trapping a number of children inside the flats. Some residents said that they had run for cover while police were pointing guns at them.
Paul Carroll (35) was trapped inside his flat just 20 metres away: "Armed police blew the door down. They put black masking tape on the door, then they blew it off. Later, they fired tear-gas into the flat. Twenty of them rushed in, taking aim at the flat."
Witnesses said they had heard police shouting at those inside and shouting at the man they called Muhammad, urging him to come out.
One witness said: "Police were shouting: 'Muhammad, come out with your hands up.' The man replied: 'If I do, you'll shoot me'."
By this time police assault teams and officers in biochemical suits were also on top of the flat.
At about 1.30 pm four further bangs were heard as police blew off other sets of doors and prepared to end the siege by force.
Witnesses said that the final occupants of the flat emerged bare-chested at about 2.30 pm. Officers told them to take off their trouser bottoms, to check for concealed weapons or explosives, and the men obeyed. They then walked along the balcony to police, put on white paper suits and were led away.
At 3.05 pm a police van sped through the protective cordon with a man in the back seat, his face covered by a fluorescent yellow jacket.
The operation had been successfully concluded and police had arrested two suspects, Muktar Said-Ibrahim, the suspected bus-bomber, and a man named by police sources as Ramsi Muhammad, the suspected Oval bomber.
A small number of soldiers from the SAS had been present to offer "technical assistance" to the police - an apparent reference to stun grenades. They were from an SAS squadron based at Hereford, specially trained in counter-terrorist operations.
On the other side of the city, it was a busy Friday lunchtime at Liverpool Street station when plainclothes armed police swooped on two women, described by one witness as "one of African and one of Asian origin and wearing Muslim dress", one of whom was apparently standing in a queue at the ticket machine.
Travellers watched in amazement as the women were made to lie face downwards and put their hands behind their backs. They were handcuffed and taken away for questioning.
One of the women had a rucksack with her, according to one witness, and the other a small box. Both the mainline and underground stations were closed and travellers were evacuated, many having to abandon their journeys while the seized items were checked. No explosives were found and the station was later reopened.
Arthur Yeroshin, who works as a shoe-cleaner on the station platform, said: "There was panic, the girls ran away and the police pushed them to the floor. They kept them there for five or six minutes and then took them away with their bags."
At about 4.15 pm yesterday, two hours after the arrests, Liverpool Street underground station was closed in what police described as a "firearms incident". Less than 10 minutes later, the armed unit returned to the concourse and the station was reopened.
It was at this point that news came of the arrest in Rome of Hussein Osman, the man wanted in connection with the bomb attempt at Shepherd's Bush.
Seven hours after one of the biggest and most important operations launched by Scotland Yard was set in motion all five suspects in the July 21st attempted bomb attack on the capital were in custody.