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All of the bombs were in the same food containers, which were then stored in dark-colored bags or backpacks. None of the devices exploded, but four of the bombs were discovered July 21, two weeks to the date after suspected suicide bombers detonated explosives on three other subways and one bus in London, killing 52 people. Police were calling on any shopkeepers who may have sold five or more of the gallon-and-a-half food-storage containers to contact police.
Over the weekend, police released images of the four suspected bombers taken on closed-circuit TV, and on Monday released the names of two of those men: Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, and Muktar Said Ibrahim, who also goes by the name of Muktar Mohammed Said, 27.
In addition to the photos of the men, police released information about how one of the suspected bombers was chased from a subway station by passengers and how another jumped out of a subway window and ran down the tracks. It is not known if an image of the suspected fifth bomber exists.
Meanwhile, British police continued raids around the city, including an apartment building one of the suspects was believed to have visited. The Metropolitan Police Department also continued to apologize for the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian national who was shot by police after failing to yield to the officers' instructions.
Menezes was not linked to the terrorists, and on Monday British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered his apologies for the accident. But Blair also defended the use of force. "Had the circumstances been different and had this turned out to be a terrorist, and they had failed to take that action, they would have been criticized the other way," he said.
