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Your World Today
London Police Fatally Shoot Man in Underground; Pakistani U.N. Ambassador.: 'Good Cooperation with Britain'; Sister Survivors
Aired July 22, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
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ANDY HAYMAN, METROPOLITAN POLICE ASST. COMM.: Anyone who has information about where these men currently are, you should immediately call 999 and ask for urgent police response.
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ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: London police release photos of four men believed to be involved in Thursday's attempted transit system attacks.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked to my right, saw the guy run onto the train. He was running so fast, he tripped. And bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, five shots.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Police shoot a man dead at a tube station and say it is connected to Thursday's incidents.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can just keep coming, keep coming, but we're still going to get on with our life. Even though we may be scared, we're still vigilant.
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VERJEE: Stiff upper lip. Londoners face rush hour with resolve the day after the latest terror scare. Then...
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am still in shock and know not how to grieve for my son. Therefore, I grieve first for the victims.
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HOLMES: We'll hear from the mother of Germaine Lindsay, one of the July 7th suicide bombers. It is now 5:00 p.m., rush hour in London. Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes.
VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN INTERNATIONAL and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
It has been another morning of heightened tension and fast-moving developments in London. A chase or a terror suspect turned deadly at a London Underground station on Friday.
HOLMES: That's right. Well, police have released photographs of four suspects in Thursday's bungled bombings. Let's bring you up to date now. The pictures come from closed circuit television in the transit system. Authorities are now asking the public for help in identifying these men. The images come from four different places. Three of them Underground stations and one bus.
VERJEE: Meanwhile, just after 10:00 a.m. London time, police fatally shot a man at the Stockwell Underground station. Police say the shooting is directly linked to the ongoing investigation, but it's not clear if the man was one of the four suspects whose pictures were shown. Witnesses say he jumped over a barrier to get onto a train, tripped and was then shot several times by police officers.
HOLMES: Also police are searching at least three locations in London as part of their investigation. One area is West London where police have cordoned off Harrow Road. We'll have more on each of these developments, plus the ongoing investigation into the earlier attacks two weeks ago in which, of course, 52 people were killed. Now let's get more on the latest developments from London from our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.
Christiane, we learned much from the news conference that was held this morning, but still there is much to come, too. There is a manhunt under way, we have these photographs. Bring us up to date.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. And we still don't know exactly who was the person who was shot dead this morning. So Ian Blair, the metropolitan police commissioner, was saying that the person who was shot at the Stockwell tube station, as you said, was linked to the investigation, but we don't know whether he was in fact connected with what happened yesterday. And after that press conference the police and his deputy -- the commissioner and his deputy took no questions.
What they did say though is that they have been combing through CCTV. They've identified four suspects. They've been showing those pictures. They've appealed very, very strongly to the public, urgently, in their words, to come forward and identify these people, tell the police where they are. They must be known to the public. And therefore, they're expecting the public now to come forth and tell them where they are. Again, very clearly telling the public and warning them, do not approach these people on your own if you see them, call the emergency police lines.
They told us a few more details about the attempted, bungled bombings in the three tube stations and on the bus yesterday. Here's what the deputy, Andrew Hayman, said.
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HAYMAN: Initial forensic examination indicates that a bomb partially detonated at each of the four sites. At this stage, it is believed that the devices consisted of homemade explosives from a -- contained in dark-colored bags, or rucksacks. At this stage, it's too early to tell how these were detonated.
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AMANPOUR: And, again, just to reiterate, this is Stockwell and behind me we've been told throughout the day that there is an area back there where police have been taking eyewitness statements as to what happened, not only this morning but obviously they continue to get statements from people about what happened yesterday.
They're combing through CCTV images, continuing to do so. And they are going house to house, as you mentioned, at least three addresses we've been told. One of them in West London has been entered by armed police as they follow leads and try to hunt down these people who they believe are the main suspects and who are involved in yesterday's failed bombing attacks.
Many people thinking that yesterday was their lucky day, especially as they hear from the police that these were explosives and the police say that obviously these people had the intention to kill. That's what they said yesterday. So people are feeling at least that they managed to escape that.
And the police are saying that the only way to defeat this is for the communities to take part in helping with the police investigations. They're very vigilant, the police, about saying that this is not targeted against any single community. But it is targeted against criminals.
Having said that, there is anxiety that we've been able to report amongst the Muslim community, particularly after the shooting today. Muslim leaders reporting that people are worried, calling in, asking whether there is now a shoot-to-kill policy here against Muslims. But the police obviously saying that that is not the case. They are looking for the criminals who perpetrated yesterday's and what happened certainly over the last couple of weeks. Back to you, Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Christiane. Christiane Amanpour there.
Well, all these details about the four men sought by police came now at that dramatic news conference I mentioned just a short time ago. The stunning pictures emerged one by one. Here's how it all unfolded.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The image we're now showing, shows a man running away from the Northern Line at the Oval Underground station at approximately 12:34 hours yesterday. We believe this man had traveled northbound on the Northern Line from Stockwell Underground station to the Oval. He was wearing a dark top with the words "New York" written in white across the front. This top was later found in Cowley Road, Brixton.
A device was left at the rear of the top deck of the Route 26 bus traveling from Waterloo to Hackney Wick. The image that is now showing is of a man at the rear of the top deck on that bus at about 12:53 hours. He got off the bus at Hackney Road at approximately 3006. He was wearing a gray T-shirt on what appears to have been a palm tree design on the front and a dark jacket with a white baseball cap.
At Warren Street a device was left in a carriage on the northbound Victoria Line. The image that's now showing of the third person we want to identify shows a man leaving Warren Street Underground at approximately 12:39 hours. He was wearing dark clothing.
Finally, at Shepherd's Bush a device was left on Hammersmith & City Line train traveling westbound. This final image that's showing is of a man of Westbourne Park Underground station at approximately 12:21 p.m. We believe he traveled westbound on the Hammersmith & City Line to Shepherd's Bush Underground station where he ran from the station. He was wearing a dark shirt and trousers and was later reported to be wearing a white vest.
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VERJEE: U.S. President George W. Bush is in Atlanta, Georgia, just moments ago he made some comments about the war on terror. Here's what he said.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people of Great Britain must understand how strongly America stands with them during these trying times.
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BUSH: Like the citizens...
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BUSH: I'm confident, like our country, the citizens of that country will not be intimidated by thugs and assassins. They understand what we know.
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BUSH: They understand what the citizens of this country understand, is that we will hold true to our principles of human rights and human dignity and the freedom to worship. We're not going to let anybody frighten us from our great love of freedom. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The U.S. has said on many occasions that the war on terror is not a war on Islam. Earlier Nic Robertson spoke to one of the trustees of Stockwell Mosque. He says some in the Muslim community are upset at the nature of the shooting at Stockwell Underground station, but he also condemned the series of terror attacks on London.
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TOAHA QURESHI, TRUSTEE, STOCKWELL MOSQUE: Islam does not promote, support or harbor terrorism in any shape or form. So, yes, the community is unanimous on the condemnation or offering unqualified condemnation on this act of terrorism.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is there any indication for you that you've seen in the community of disaffected youth that could get involved in the types of attacks that we've seen?
QURESHI: Well, the Muslim community has been raising alarm for the last five, six years, very openly, and accepting that, yes, there is a problem among our community. Who created this problem in the community, that is another issue. A vast majority of Muslims believe that in the early '80s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, our agencies from Western countries and America, they included a lot of young Muslims (INAUDIBLE) Soviet Union. So this argument has been very strong from not only the young Muslims, but the mainstream (INAUDIBLE) as well. But having said that, under no circumstance is it a justification to kill innocent people.
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HOLMES: When a crime is committed in the middle of a packed bus or train, not only will the act be caught on camera, but hundreds of people will bear witness to what happened.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put him in his mid to late 20s. Quite sort of chubby build, and he had a baseball cap on. But he did have sort of quite a thick, padded jacket, which I thought was unusual for this sort of weather.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't see any rucksacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he say anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. He looked horrified, though. Absolutely. I caught the side of his face for a split second, he looked absolutely horrified and then he was on the floor and dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were boarding the train, but then we heard the shootings and everybody started to scream and to run. And the way -- we did not know what happened -- what was happening so we just (INAUDIBLE) stream and we rushed out. You know, because we did not know whether there was going to be a bombing or anything.
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VERJEE: Life for many London commuters has changed drastically since the attack two weeks ago. The attempted bombings on Thursday and the shooting of a man on a train on -- or today, rather, served to heighten the fear. Paula Hancocks spoke to Londoners on their way to work.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Security is tight, the mood tense. Rush hour on London's Underground significantly quieter Friday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You prefer to think that any incident like that is going to be a one-off and it's not going to have to be something that you're going to have to worry about on an ongoing basis.
HANCOCKS: There has been much talk of stoic Londoners, those who got back on the tube this morning proved it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to allow them to affect my life. I'm not going to let them sort of live my life in panic because at the end of the day, that's them winning.
HANCOCKS: But they have affected lives. London is fast becoming a city of cyclists and walkers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this one has really scared people. If it's going to happen a second time, a third and a fourth. So, no, I think it's going to be a permanent -- a lot of people are riding bikes. And I think they're going to tend to do it all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm planning on buying a bike today so that I can bike to work.
HANCOCKS: This lady is certainly not alone. According to Transport for London, bicycle usage is up 70 percent on five years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) bikes are selling a lot. Hybrid bikes are selling staggering amounts. We just can't keep up with the demand.
HANCOCKS: Local taxis say business is actually quieter for them. Traffic is bad because of road closures around affected areas, but there aren't as many people on the streets.
(on camera): Three million people used to use the London Underground, but this Friday we are nowhere near that figure. Taking into account those who are walking and those who are cycling, many are thought to be working from home and some just as they did two weeks ago, deciding to take a long weekend.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
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VERJEE: Next on CNN, tensions between Pakistan and Britain in the aftermath of the attacks.
HOLMES: And we're going to be speaking to Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN INTERNATIONAL.
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VERJEE: Welcome back. You're watching an hour of world news on CNN INTERNATIONAL. Londoners' nerves are on edge with events unfolding rapidly in the city's terror alert. Police have released photos of four suspects in Thursday's bungled bombings. The pictures come from closed circuit television in the transit system.
Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying the men. Meanwhile, police fatally shot a man at the Stockwell Underground station on Friday. Police say the shooting was directly linked to the ongoing investigation. But it's unclear if the man was one of the suspects whose pictures are being shown.
Police are searching at least three location in London as part of their investigation. One area is West London, where police have cordoned off Harrow Road. In other incidents, an East London mosque said police called after receiving a bomb threat. The mosque has since reopened.
In a broadcast interview in the United States, Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, says Britain should try and solve its own problems at home and not blame Pakistan for influencing the July 7th suicide bombers. With us now to discuss some of those tensions between Britain and Pakistan is Islamabad's ambassador to the U.N., Munir Akram.
Mr. Ambassador, how tense is it, pointing fingers?
MUNIR AKRAM, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Well, I think that we must be clear that we have good cooperation with Britain, with the United States, and with all the countries who are involved in the war against terrorism. At the same time, the war against terrorism is both local as well as global. And I think each one of us has to do its part in fighting this war on terrorism.
So when something happens somewhere, the focus has to be on dealing with the problem there rather than externalizing it.
VERJEE: Let's talk about Pakistan's part here. There have been more than 300 arrests since the crackdown on militants. Are any of those that have been arrested in Pakistan directly linked to the London bombings?
AKRAM: No, not as far as we know. We are cracking down because we need to do it. Whenever we have information, we crack down, we round up people, we interrogate them, and we find out what the connections are. But so far no direct connection has been established. And we are doing it for our own purposes, for our own role in the war against terrorism to prevent extremism and terrorism in our own society.
VERJEE: A key British Muslim al Qaeda suspect by the name of Haroun Rashid Aswad, is he in Pakistani custody?
AKRAM: Not as far as I know. And I don't think that we know who this man is, but we do not know whether he's part of those who have been rounded up, but I don't know whether he's in Pakistan or in Pakistani custody.
VERJEE: There were reports in the Pakistani local papers that he was taken into custody in Lahore earlier this week during the crackdown on madrassas. So no knowledge of that?
AKRAM: No, I don't think that this has been established. These are perhaps rumors but we are in the process of interrogation and we are doing it in our own context.
VERJEE: Is that man, Haroun Rashid Aswad, already on a Pakistan watch list? Has he been on one?
AKRAM: I'm afraid I'm not in a position to tell you whether he is or not, but we certainly can check that. I suspect that if he's on an international list, he will be on our list.
VERJEE: How many people do British investigators want arrested or investigated in Pakistan? What have they asked?
AKRAM: Well, the cooperation with Britain is ongoing and we are responding to whatever requests we receive. And this is an ongoing process, this is a daily process, before and after the London bombing. But in this case, we certainly also hope that Britain will do its part in restraining, if you will, those extremist organizations who are operating freely in Britain.
VERJEE: President Pervez Musharraf announced a string of new measures cracking down on militants, tightening reins against extremist schools, particularly that preach hatred. How can we be sure that this isn't just a one-off thing that has been done in Pakistan under pressure since the terror attacks in London and that this may not just ease off at some point down the road?
AKRAM: You must understand that we are acting for ourselves to eradicate terrorism and extremism from our own society. President Musharraf has himself been attacked twice by these extremists and terrorists. So we have to do it for our own society. We are a country that's growing rapidly. We have great hope and aspirations and we must do it for ourselves. And we do not act under pressure. And certainly there is no pressure on us to act. We are doing it on our own, for our own sake, and we are an active leading player in the war against terrorism.
VERJEE: Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, thank you.
AKRAM: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Let's take a look at some stories making news in the United States. Amid the heightened tension on transit systems in the U.S. and Europe, American lawmakers are focusing on the anti-terrorist Patriot Act. The House of Representatives voted to extend the law indefinitely while a Senate committee approved its version of an extension. But senators called for a re-examination of controversial provisions that allow federal agents to use roving wiretaps and search library and medical records.
The White House is turning its attention away from Supreme Court nominees and the controversy surrounding the president's top aide, and back to his campaign for Social Security reform. President Bush is addressing a crowd made up largely of senior citizens in Atlanta, Georgia. His proposed overhaul of the Social Security system has run into widespread opposition.
Two airline pilots who got behind the controls after a night of heavy drinking have been sentenced to prison. The judge didn't hide his disdain, saying, what were you thinking of? The two were drunk when they stepped into the cockpit of a Phoenix-bound America West jetliner in 2002. They were arrested before the plane took off. One was sentenced to five years behind bars, the other, two-and-a-half.
And we will be back after this break.
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HOLEMS: Well, a series of rapidly moving events in London are ratcheting up tension in that attack-weary city. Police released photographs -- these photographs, of four suspects in Thursday's bungled bombings. The pictures come from closed circuit television in the transit system. Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying these men.
Meanwhile, police fatally shot a man at the Stockwell Underground station on Friday. Police say the shooting was directly linked to the ongoing investigation. But they did not say whether the dead man was one of the suspects whose pictures we just showed you.
Police are searching at least three location in London as part of their investigation. One area is West London where police have cordoned off part of Harrow Road.
(MARKET REPORT)
HOLMES: We're going to have a round-up of the main stories in a moment.
VERJEE: The mother of one of the July 7th London bombers speaks out.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I respected and admired him so very much.
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VERJEE: We're going to hear her story after a short break.
HOLMES: And two American sister whose survived the London attacks, you would be surprised how they feel about the bombers.
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HOLMES: And a warm welcome back, everyone, to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN INTERNATIONAL. I'm Michael Holmes.
VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Here are some soft top stories we're following.
HOLMES: It has been another morning of chaos and intense police activity in London. Police have released these photographs of four suspects in Thursday's bungled bombings. The photographs come from closed-circuit television in the transit system. Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying the men.
VERJEE: Meanwhile, police fatally shot a man at the Stockwell Underground station on Friday. Police say the shooting was directly linked to the ongoing investigation, but they did not say whether the dead man was one of the suspects whose pictures are being shown.
The mother of the July 7th suicide bombing suspect Jermaine Lindsay is expressing doubts about her son's involvement in the attacks. Maryam McLeod spoke on the island of Grenada at a news conference.
Meanwhile, police confirm an attempted arson attack at Lindsay's home west of London.
A 30-year-old Briton of Indian descent is on the list of suspects British police have asked Pakistan to pursue. Haroon Rashid Aswad, whose family lived at this house, is suspected of having ties to the four bombers.
Police are searching at least three location in London as part of their investigation into Thursday's attempted bombings. Matthew Chance reports now on what London police are calling the greatest operational challenge they've ever faced.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are days of unprecedented drama on the streets of the British capital. As a manhunt continues on the bombers attempted to attack London's transport system on Thursday, police have released images of the men they're urgently looking for. The first is of a man running at the Oval subway station in South London. He's wearing a dark sweatshirt with New York written on the front.
The second image is of the man police believe left the device on a London bus. Like the others, it only partially exploded.
The suspected Warren Street bomber in Central London is pictured next. Then the man police believe left his device in Shepherd's Bush, to the city's west.
ANDY HAYMAN, ASSISTANT LONDON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Do you recognize any of these men? Did you see them at the three Underground stations or on the bus? Did you see them at different locations? Did you see these men together, before or after the incident? Did you see them with anyone else?
CHANCE: And in London's latest war on terror, the first shots have now been fired as well -- detectives gunning down a man directly linked, they say, with their investigations. Terrified commuters could only look on.
MARK WHITBEY, WITNESS: Yeah, I was sitting on the Tube train. It hadn't pulled out of the station at this time. The doors were still open. I heard a lot of shouting, get down, get out. I looked to my right. I saw a chap run on to the train -- Asian guy. He run on to the train. He sort of -- he was running so fast, he half sort of tripped. But he was being being pursued by three guys. One had a black handgun in his hand, left hand. As he sort of went down, two of them sort of dropped onto him to hold him down, and the other one fired. I heard five shots, basically.
QUESTION: Was this -- they did that in front of you on the train?
WHITBEY: I was about maybe four or five yards along from where this actually happened. I watched it. I actually saw it.
CHANCE: Another passenger described the panic that followed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, people were panicking, and everybody was running, you know. I panicked, you know, I have to have say. It's really terrifying, because, you know, just thinking about the bombings yesterday, you know, you don't know what's going to happen next, right? So when we heard something, everybody was running. You just follow the stream, and you start running.
CHANCE: London is a city on edge, still shocked from the carnage earlier this month when 56 people were killed in bomb attacks across the city. This photograph of a backpack filled with explosives has been released. It was left on the bus, but failed to go off. Forensic experts now examining the exploded bombs for evidence.
(on camera) These could prove potentially major leads for the police in their ongoing antiterrorism investigation: unexploded bombs at the scene, people left alive to give interviews whose witnessed what happened, and security video to examine closely -- all potentially rich sources for clues, not just about who these bombers are, but where they are and who was behind them.
And as the British capital edges nervously forward, police operations are underway across the city. And pressure to take the bombers off the streets is widely felt.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: One woman in Grenada was especially stunned by the bombings in London two weeks ago. That is because her son was identified as one of the bombers. Juliette Bremner (ph) has the story now of a mother in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIETTE BREMNER, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The last image of Jermaine, or Jemal, Lindsay as he entered the Luton Station, explosives strapped to his back. But it's not one his mother can accept.
MARYAM MCLEOD, MOTHER OF BOMBING SUSPECT: The picture that you see on the television, those are stolen pictures. I haven't seen a picture to clarify that's my son. I do not even know that's my son.
BREMNER: But there seems little doubt that the teenager she last saw in August 2004 is the King's Cross bomber.
MCLEOD: I respected and admired him so very much.
BREMNER: Speaking from her home in Grenada, Maryam McLeod struggles to accept the transformation from devoted son to terrorist.
MCLEOD: He was so mature. And he was so sincere and so loving.
BREMNER: She described her son, who was following her example when he converted to Islam, as a loving brother, husband, and father.
MCLEOD: I'm still in shock and know not how to grieve for my son. Therefore, I grieve first for the victims, ones who are dead and ones who are alive. I grieve for the mothers and fathers, for the individuals whose are now possibly traumatized by the visions of death and horror.
BREMNER: Condemning the events of July 7th, she says she's now praying that her son might be forgiven. Juliette Bremner, ITV news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Among those closely following events in London from afar, two sisters now in a hospital in the United States recovering from injuries suffered in the first London attacks. Carol Costello has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel to be going home?
KATIE BENTON, SURVIVED LONDON ATTACKS: Oh, my gosh. I can't wait to get home. CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Home for Katie Benton and her sister Emily is Knoxville, Tennessee, a world away from London, where they were injured two weeks ago in the London terror attacks. Now being treated at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, they were stunned to hear about more chaos in London on Thursday.
EMILY BENTON, SURVIVED LONDON ATTACKS: I guess I just kind of shocked, you know, that it happened again this soon after. And it was just sad to see. You notice everyone in a state of panic, once again.
K. BENTON: Lightning did strike twice. But I just -- yes, I really do feel like, please, please give London a break. Just let them get back to life as normal.
COSTELLO: On July 7th, the 20 and 21-year-old sisters were sightseeing in London and were just ten feet away from the bomb that exploded in the Edgware Road tube station attack.
E. BENTON: We were only on the train for just half a minute. It wasn't -- we had just sat down. The train had just taken off. We didn't have time to look around at what other people looked like or who was on there or anything. And then the explosions went off.
I felt like I went into, like, the fetal position and just, like, crouched down and I felt like I was being electrocuted. And I felt like I was on fire and I was burning. I could feel my skin like, peeling off. Everything had just been, you know, ripped. The windows had been blown out. You know, the chairs, some of the chairs, the seats had been, you know -- come off. And there were poles and debris everywhere.
K. BENTON: There was a wide range of injury level. The person next to me who had been seated close to me was lying on the floor and they were dead. And then there was another man that was like completely piled in rubble. And then there were Emily and I that kind of had, like, the middle of the range -- like, I guess we were on the lesser side of the more seriously injured. But then there were people that had, like, a cut on their forehead.
E. BENTON: Yes.
K. BENTON: So, I mean, there was a huge range of injuries on the car. And I think that's because it was a fairly small bomb.
COSTELLO: The sisters know they're lucky to be alive, but they say they're not angry at their attackers.
K. BENTON: I found out on the train that it was a bombing. I did not know whether -- I did not know it was a suicide bombing. I just knew it was a bombing. And honestly, my heart just broke for the bombers and the bombers' families. And I actually sat there and prayed for them. Just that -- it's just so horrendous. And for anybody to be so mislead to think that that could possibly be positive. Like, that's just -- it just saddens me so much, for their sake. E. BENTON: It's so sad, you know, that that many people have been injured for just something that, you know, was meaningless. Nothing was accomplished by that.
COSTELLO: Now, after treatment, first in London, and then North Carolina, these sister survivors are eager to move on with their lives.
K. BENTON: Emotionally, physically, doing surprisingly well for the situation.
E. BENTON: I feel great. And emotionally, I feel great. I'm so excited to be going home. I can't wait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: Carol Costello reporting there.
VERJEE: We're going to have much more on what's happening in London when we come back.
MANN: Don't go away. Plus, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes a surprise stop in the Middle East. Details on that story when we come back as well, and your international weather.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of world news on CNN International. A city already on alert was further rattled Friday. Here's the latest now from London. We recap the news. Police released these photographs of four suspect in Thursday's bungled bombings. The pictures come from closed circuit television in the transit system. Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying the men.
Meanwhile, police fatally shot a man at the Stockwell Underground Station on Friday. Police say the shooting was directly linked to the ongoing investigation, but it is unclear if the man was one of the suspects whose pictures are now being shown.
Police are searching at least three locations in London as part of their investigation. And in other incidents, an east London Mosque said -- called police after receiving a bomb threat. That mosque has now since reopened.
VERJEE: Let's take a look at some stories making news in the United States. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Lebanon on Friday. Rice met with Saad Hariri, who's emerging as a powerful politician. His father, the former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in February. Rice arrived in Lebanon from Israel.
And take a look at this. Authorities say it's the first ever drug-smuggling tunnel discovered between the U.S. and Canada. Authorities say the 360-foot tunnel runs from the Canadian side to the living room of a Washington state house. Authorities had monitored the tunnel's construction for months before rounding up suspects in the case. Three Canadians and two Americans have been arrested.
MANN: You never know what's going to pop up in your living room.
(WEATHER REPORT)
VERJEE: Up next, American Lance Armstrong on track to ride into Tour De France history.
HOLMES: Tour de France, I like that.
VERJEE: Again.
HOLMES: Straight ahead, fans, rivals and the girlfriend of the cycling champ talk about how he does it. Stay with us for the Tour de France.
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HOLMES: The Tour de France ends in Paris on Sunday and six times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is closing in on a record seventh straight victory.
VERJEE: Our Jim Bittermann caught up, or should we say tried to catch up, with Armstrong in the French Alps. And he has more on what is his farewell tour.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lance Armstrong!
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There he was again, day after day this year, like last year and years before that. Lance Armstrong, putting on the yellow jersey that only a Tour de France top gun gets to wear. A whole generation of the tours' riders has grown old, waiting for Lance Armstrong to fail. So far, he has refused.
(on camera): In his sixth Tour de France victory, Armstrong has only come close to losing. That was in 2003, when he came in just 61 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. It's not like he's obsessed with winning, said one longtime tour observer, it's just that he can't stand to lose.
(voice-over): One reason, perhaps, Armstrong is now just hours away from retiring undefeated from what is called the toughest athletic event on earth. But there are other explanations. His coach of the past 15 years has watched the developments occur.
CHRIS CARMICHAEL, ARMSTRONG MANAGER: Lance has brought a lot of technology into it, has brought in -- we've developed new training methods, new nutrition strategies and things like that that has really helped Lance perform better.
BITTERMANN: A cycling expert who has covered 29 Tours de France has a less technical explanation. SAM APT, INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: He is a phenomenal athlete. He's highly trained. He's very motivated, and he's very powerful. Very strong.
BITTERMANN: But Armstrong himself says it's just a matter of turning a three-week event into a year-round project.
LANCE ARMSTONG, SIX TIME TOURE DE FRANCE CHAMPION: We came in and we said, OK, this is our goal. And let's just stay focused year- round and look at all the stages. (INAUDIBLE) middle of the winter, we'll train hard.
BITTERMANN: Some commentators here say the race will be better without Armstrong. The outcome less certain, the competition more open. Even the champion agrees.
ARMSTRONG: I'm looking forward to watching this next year's race. It will be very different.
BITTERMANN: But for those who stood along the roadsides, watching the Tour de France road show whiz by for the past seven years, the difference will amount to a sense of loss.
FRANCOISE HILLER, RACE FAN (through translator): Armstrong is Armstrong. He is the king, the king of cycling. He's unbeatable.
BITTERMANN: Singer Sheryl Crow, who's also Armstrong's girlfriend, says there has been a unique feel to the crowds this year.
SHERYL CROW, ARMSTRONG'S GIRLFRIEND: I think particularly the French have really kind of grown up with him. And so it is an opportunity for him to come out and say so long to a great deal of them.
BITTERMANN: You detect that same sort of admiration even and especially from those who fought hard to beat him.
FRED RODRIGUEZ, TOURE DE FRANCE PARTICIPANT: It's just impressive. I mean, it's nothing we could do but just -- we just watch him ride away from us.
BITTERMANN: And so, toward the end of a exhausting three weeks of daily physical punishment, the scores of riders headed off for yet another day of fierce competition under a hot sun. It was with the knowledge that while this year's race may end the same as last, at least next year, next year, as Armstrong himself said, the tour will be different. Not because the king has been defeated, but because he has departed, departed while still on top.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, on the Tour de France.
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HOLMES: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Michael Holmes. And you are?
VERJEE: I am Zain Verjee. Thank you for joining us.
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