bruno vincent / getty images Renewed alert Police evacuate the area around Oval station after a bomber tried to attack an underground line

	SPECIAL REPORT

Posted Sunday, July 24, 2005; 18.15BST
London was lucky. Outwardly, the city responded to the attempted bombings with the same determination to get on with life as it had shown two weeks before. Yet the depressing prospect of a perpetual threat — and the need for perpetual vigilance — could not be avoided. There were some small causes for relief in the differences between last week's attacks and those on July 7. The bus bomber alighted 25 minutes before his charge detonated, so he was not seeking suicide. At least one of the backpacks was smaller than those used on July 7. The fizzled detonations prompted some experts to argue that the second group was more amateurish, or had been prevented from getting vital components. But the police themselves do not seem to think that the second set of bombs were the work of unrelated copycats. "The two incidents do have similarities," said police special operations chief Andy Hayman, implying that London was now under siege by radical jihadists.

That is bound to have an impact on British habits and laws. A nation that has long prided itself on the fact that most of its policemen go about unarmed is uneasy about seeing flak jackets and machine guns on its streets. Indeed, pictures of plain-clothes marksmen cradling enormous automatic weapons outside Stockwell station were redolent more of Baghdad or Kabul than south London. Already, the British government is preparing legislation that will grant much wider powers to the authorities, enabling them — it is hoped — both to crack down on those who aid and abet terrorists and roll up networks of would-be murderers. Yet for all the action on the streets and in the bureaucracy, the second wave of attacks — and the fact that the bombers had not been caught up in the dragnet that was cast after July 7 — proved how much there was still to do.

Part of the task now is to unravel the bombers' links to foreign countries and al-Qaeda. Last week, an American official confirmed that his British counterparts were hot on the trail of Haroon Rashid Aswat, a 31-year-old British-born man also of interest to American authorities. Aswat is alleged to have been part of a plan to establish an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon six years ago. The British, a senior U.S. law-enforcement official says, consider Aswat "a central figure" in their investigation of the London blasts, though U.S. intelligence is uncertain of his role. Aswat, born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, near where one of the July 7 bombers lived, was a former top aide to Abu Hamza al-Masri, the one-eyed, hook-armed imam who was arrested last year and is fighting extradition to the U.S. on terror charges. Pakistani and British sources contacted by Time repeatedly denied reports that Aswat had been arrested last week in Pakistan, though men with identical names may have been detained. A British official said, "To our knowledge, Aswat is not in Pakistan, and may never have been." Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's President, has admitted that radical Islam is a problem in his country. But with some reason, he points out that Pakistan is not the only nation to have a problem with radical jihadists. "There is a lot to be done in Pakistan," Musharraf said last week, "and we are addressing it. But there is a lot to be done in England."

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London Terror [Aug. 1, 2005] Four more bomb attempts on London transport rattle the already anxious capital, while the search for those responsible takes on global dimensions Becoming A Bomber [Aug. 1, 2005] Investigators in Pakistan explore possible radicalizing influences Hate Around The Coner [July 25, 2005] Investigators blame the attacks on four homegrown suicide bombers — and look for global links to al-Qaeda In Both Sorrow and Anger [July 25, 2005] British Muslims start to talk about the London bombs — and the radicalism that produced them The Hardest Count [July 25, 2005] How do you indentify the victims of a suicide bomber? 7 Days Later [July 14, 2005] Scenes from Britain after the suicide attacks TIMEeurope.com Series Of Explosions In London [July 7, 2005] Dozens die as terrorists hit Britain's capital in the crowded rush hour TIME.com Back to Work [July 8, 2005] TIME's staffers give first-person accounts of their morning journey as Londoners return to their commute the day after a deadly attack Photoessay Rush Hour Terror [July 18, 2005] After a strike in the heart of London, suspicion again falls on Islamic radicals. Inside the hunt for the bombers 3 Lessons from London [July 18, 2005] As investigators unravel the plot, here's what the attacks reveal about how al-Qaeda operates today — and why the bombings may be a sign of things to come Photoessay A New Blitz [July 7, 2005] Four explosions in London rip apart a bus and shut down the entire transport system Photoessay Eyewitness [July 8, 2005] Personal Cameras and cellphones record the terror of the day Photoessay London Carnage [July 8, 2005] Dozens killed by rush-hour terror strikes Photoessay London Mourning [July 8, 2005] Shock and sadness follows a wave of terror Search all issues of TIME Magazine Indicates premium content