Police release images of bus bomber

LONDON, Friday (AFP) Police, in a bid to elicit further information about last week's London bombings, are circulating pictures from close-circuit television footage of an 18-year-old man identified as the bus bomber.

Most British newspapers on Friday carried front-page pictures of Hasib Hussain walking through Luton rail station at 7:20 am (0620 GMT) on July 7, about two and a half hours before he blows up the bus in London.

The image is grainy but stubble is visible on his face. He is wearing a dark jacket and dark trousers and his carrying a backpack.

Hussain and the three other bombers reportedly traveled together on a commuter train from Luton to London, a short trip south, though he appears alone in the picture. In previous days, CCTV footage showed the four were chatting together at King's Cross station in London before they parted with an undemonstrative goodbye.

The Times newspaper said detectives were anxious to determine if Hussain, unable to blow up a train, may have sought last-minute orders before changing his target to the bus.

Scotland Yard anti-terrorist branch chief Peter Clarke said: "What we are asking the public is 'Did you see this man at King's Cross? Was he alone or with others? Do you know the route he took from the station? Did you see him get on to a number 30 bus and, if you did, when and where was that?'"

Clarke said police want to speak to all those who survived the attack on the bus, which killed 12 of an estimated 80 passengers aboard.

Police also released a second image of Hussain, taken from his driving licence which was found in the wreckage of the bus. The police investigation - codenamed Thesis - has already taken more than 500 witness statements and had seized more than 5,000 CCTV tapes, and Clarke said there had been a "vast amount of information".

Clarke said: "This has been and still is a fast-moving investigation, with new leads emerging literally by the hour. "There are a number of things we need to establish - Who actually committed the attacks? Who supported them? Who financed them? Who trained them? Who encouraged them?

"This will take many months of intensive, detailed investigation."