A Month on, London Still in Grip of Terror

Amid a surge in tension, the first suspect charged in Britain in connection with a second wave of attempted attacks on July 21 appeared in court, with his lawyer denying that he had any link to terrorism.

More than 6,000 police officers, many of them armed, were on duty in shifts in the British capital in part of what has become the biggest and most expensive security deployment here since World War II.

"It is certainly a very big police operation today," Andy Trotter, the Metropolitan Police's deputy assistant commissioner, told BBC radio. "We are out there to reassure Londoners and also to deter any further attacks on the system," Trotter added. "London is at a very high state of alert."

Al Qaeda deputy issues warning of more attacks

Fuelling fears of another terrorist strike, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, warned Britain and the United States they would face more attacks, in a video broadcast Thursday. "These policies (of British Prime Minister Tony Blair) will bring them more destruction after the explosions of London," he said in the footage, shown on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel.

Zawahiri also threatened the United States with "horror that would make them forget the horror they saw in Vietnam," referring to the war in that country.

Four weeks ago on July 7, a nightmare came true for Britons when four suicide bombers blew themselves up on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus, killing 52 people and injuring hundreds more.

A fortnight later, another gang apparently tried to carry out a copycat atrocity that backfired when their bombs failed to detonate properly.

Britain's worst terror scourge has sparked an unprecedented manhunt that has resulted in scores of arrests both here and overseas.

First July 21 suspect remanded in custody

A judge Thursday ordered the first suspect to be charged in Britain in connection with the July 21 attacks to be remanded in custody until a further hearing on August 11.

Ismael Abdurahman, 23, is charged with failing to disclose information to police about a man suspected of trying to blow up a train in Shepherd's Bush, west London. That suspect, Hamdi Issac, was arrested in Rome last week.

Abdurahman did not enter a formal plea but his lawyer Ann Faul said he denied any connections to terrorism. "I have been instructed to tell the court he is, and will be, vigorously contesting this charge and that he has no involvement in any terrorist activity whatsoever," she said.

Abdurahman was arrested on July 28 in south London and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted. The man is not one of the four key suspects accused of carrying out the operation, whose pictures were released after the abortive bombings.

Extensive manhunt getting results

The British authorities are holding a total of 14 people in custody in relation to the attacks, including three of the suspected would-be bombers, while Hamdi Issac, a fourth bomb suspect, is held in Italy and is due to face an extradition hearing on August 17.

In a fast-moving international investigation, Zambia announced Wednesday that it would deport Haroon Aswat, the alleged mastermind behind London's first attacks on July 7, who was arrested in the capital Lusaka two weeks ago.

Back in London, commuters and tourists were putting on a brave face despite jitters about another attack.

London jittery as Thursday comes round again

"It is the first thing I thought of this morning -- it is Thursday, something is bound to happen because it is Thursday," said Rosemary Gajlmal, 20, a waitress at a bagel restaurant in central London, as she stepped off one of the capital's red buses, which was full of passengers.

Plenty of people were also using the Underground network, which ran an almost normal service for the first time since the July 7 bombings with the Piccadilly line fully restored and a limited service on the Circle line.

Passenger numbers on the subway have plunged 30 percent at weekends and between five to 15 percent on weekdays since the July 7 bombings.

But Transport for London said this was largely due to some of the network being out of action, and predicted that levels would soon return to normal.

Reports that the the families of victims killed in the July 7 attacks will be eligible for up to 16,000 euros ($20,000) in government compensation have been met by derision by British victims' groups who say the compensation is far too little.

The Home Office confirmed the reports and added that those most seriously injured in the blasts will be eligible for up to 360,000 euros, a spokeswoman for told AFP. The sums compare with around $2 million paid out by the US government to families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks there.

Bombs made up of everyday items, police say

Meanwhile new details of the make-up of the London bombs also emerged in New York, where a police chief said the ingredients included harmless, everyday items like hair bleach and food preservative.

"The recipe to make a bomb is unfortunately as available on the Internet as a recipe for meatloaf," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was quoted in press reports as saying.