UK: LONDON: BOMB EXPLODES IN LITTER BIN

(9 Mar 1996) English/Nat

A bomb has exploded in a litter bin in west London.

No-one was hurt in the blast early Saturday, but nearby windows were shattered and parked cars damaged. No warning was given before the bomb went off.

Police believe the IRA may have planted the bomb - its the third explosion in the British capital since the underground organisation called off an 18-month truce last month.

Three people - including a bomber who blew himself up on a bus - have died since the IRA ended their ceasefire, because they were dissatisfied with the stalled Northern Ireland peace process.

London was again on heightened alert following Saturday morning's latest bombing, which many blamed instantly on the I-R-A.

The streets near the blast were immediately cordoned off by police as bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search for other possible explosive devices.

Police combing the area said there was no indication that Ministry of Defence offices were the intended target of the bombers, even though they are near the site of the blast.

The explosion was also close to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, the venue for the annual Royal Tournament, a military display held in the summer and frequently attended by members of the British Royal Family.

Police were unwilling to give away many details immediately after the blast.

SOUNDBITE:
"Damage is confined to a couple of motor vehicles which were nearby, and some windows on the opposite side of the road. That's about all I can tell you at the moment."
Q:"Have bomb squad officers been in to check the scene?"
A:"No they haven't yet."
Q:"Are they going to come in?"
A:"We are calling in our anti-terrorist officers"
Q:"Was there a warning?"
A"No warning was given"
SUPER CAPTION: Chief Superintendent Peter Rice, Metropolitan Police

Officers wearing flak jackets left no stone unturned..

Bins were emptied onto the roadside to check for further concealed devices.

The bemused public had their own stories to tell.

SOUNDBITE:
I thought it was a firework. I was sitting down, and it shook the chair, and then I realised that this is not a firework, because it actually shook the chair that I was sitting on, and then I and my friends rushed to the window and we thought God that's a bomb.
SUPER CAPTION: Nicky Goodsir, bomb witness

Other local residents mistook the blast for thunder, because the bomb went off during a heavy rain shower.

SOUNDBITE:
I didn't actually see anything, I was in my flat, just off Lillie Road and I heard a loud noise which I assumed to be an explosion, so I came outside to have a look. They police had cordoned off the road and told me that there was a suspect package in a wastepaper bin outside Brompton Cemetery."
SUPER CAPTION: Bomb witness

SOUNDBITE:
"Did you know it was a bomb when you heard it?"
"Yes, I think so."
"What were your immediate thoughts, were you scared?"
"Yes I was scared, because the room, everything was shaking.
SUPER CAPTION: Ali Khan, local resident

Police hope that video surveillance cameras located around the bomb site may provide them with some clues as to the bombers' identity.

The blast follows the resumption last month of the IRA's violent campaign to drive the British out of Northern Ireland.

Bombing London re-started with a huge blast at Canary Wharf on the River Thames, which caused massive damage to local businesses and killed two men working in a newsagents' shop.

The bomb prompted police to tighten security throughout the country, especially in London.


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