Nine more people were arrested this week in connection with the July 21 attempts to bomb London's transit system. News reports indicate the plot that led to the bombings on July 7 that killed 56 people may have been larger than previously thought.
News reports suggest the discovery of unexploded devices in the trunk of a car rented by one of the July 7 suicide bombers may be evidence of a larger plot. According to experts and exclusive photos obtained by ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation), there may have been enough explosives in the car for a second, possibly deadlier strike.
The evidence includes four detonators and a dozen home made bombs - some, packaged like pancakes or packed in glass or plastic jars. Experts says the bombs reveal much about the bombers, including intent to inflict maximum damage.
ABC Counter-terrorism expert Dick Clarke says with three of the suspected attackers still at large, British police are racing against time to determine if a network of suicide bombers is under the control of a single entity. He added, "So far they have only been able to identify eight suicide bombers, there may have been as many as two dozen lined up ready to kill themselves."
As the arrests continue, an early morning raid on Garrat Terrace in London brings the number of suspects in police custody to 20, including one of the alleged bombers.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair says more attacks are possible. "It does remain possible that those at large will strike again," he said. "And it does also remain possible that there are other cells who are capable and intent on striking again."
Investigators are looking for similarities between the attacks. Bomb experts say all the bombs were made with peroxide, a common household chemical and carried by the bombers in rucksacks.
Police Commissioner Blair says the botched attempt on July 21 was just a lucky break. "This is not the B-team. These weren't amateurs," he said. "They made a mistake. They only made one mistake, and we're very, very lucky."
With a little luck, Mr Clarke said the new evidence could lead investigators to those behind the bombings. "One of the things terrorism experts like to do is see the signature of the bomb," he said, "and it reveals like a painting the signature of the painter. It reveals who the bomb maker was."
A man American authorities believe may have ties to the suicide bombers is 30-year-old Haroon Rashid Aswat. The British subject is in American custody in Zambia under questioning for his role in the July 7 attacks in London, and for a 1999 plot to establish a Jihad training camp in the United States.