British police name two London bombing suspects

Police are seeking to question the man pictured over an attempt to set off a bomb between Stockwell and Oval Underground stations…

Police are seeking to question the man pictured over an attempt to set off a bomb between Stockwell and Oval Underground stations in London last Thursday.

British police have released the names of two of the four men suspected of taking part in the failed July 21st bombings in London.

Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch, released new images of some of the men who tried to bomb three subway cars and a bus.

He identified two of the suspects as Muktar Said Ibraihim, also known as Muktar Mohammed Said (27), and Yasin Hassan Omar (24).

Officers said there was no indication the four men had fled Britain after their failure to detonate devices last Thursday aboard three Underground trains and a bus. Police believe the bombers may be preparing to strike again while being harboured at safe houses in the capital.

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The bombs were all placed in plastic food containers, and carried in dark rucksacks.

Raids have been carried out on properties in south London, and three men have been arrested under anti-terror laws. But none are understood to be the men who tried to carry out Thursday's attacks.

Police have a total of five men in custody as a result of their investigation to date.

Police say they are looking for more suspects because investigators believe a wide network of al-Qaeda-linked operatives staged the attacks. The network could include bomb-makers and those who coached the young suicide attackers before their mission, according to police.

Investigators are pursuing leads that seemed to indicate a link between the unsuccessful attacks on July 21st - when bombs only partially detonated - and the suicide bombings two weeks earlier that killed the four bombers and 52 other people.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, said he was "desperately sorry" for the death at police hands of Brazilian national Jean Charles de Menezes (27).

Mr de Menezes, an electrician, was shot dead by police as he tried to get on a train at Stockwell Tube station. He had been followed from a block of flats that was under surveillance, but he had no connection to terrorism

"We are all desperately sorry for the death of an innocent person and I understand entirely the feelings of the young man's family," Mr Blair said. "But we also have to understand that the police are trying to do a job in very, very difficult circumstances."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will meet his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, in London today and will apologise for Mr Menezes's death.