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[demetriou_74]

Police evacuated the central entertainment district of Birmingham on Saturday evening after receiving a warning, two days after bombs killed more than 50 people in London.

Thousands of people were being asked to leave Birmingham city centre while police roadblocks on main access routes stopped others from driving in.

"We are asking people to leave Birmingham town centre and go home," said a police spokesman, who declined to elaborate on the nature of the warning.

The operation was by far the biggest of several security scares in the country on Saturday in the wake of Thursday's attacks on London's transport system.

Earlier, police revealed that the three bombs that ripped through London underground trains went off almost simultaneously, making it more likely they were detonated by timers rather than suicide bombers.

A fourth bomb that blew up a bus almost an hour later was probably left in a bag and not triggered by a suicide bomber, they added.

The blasts killed more than 50 people. Police did not speculate why the fourth bomb went off on a bus but media and security experts speculated that it had initially been destined for a train.

Investigators were struggling in extreme heat to retrieve bodies still trapped underground two days after the attacks, and anxious relatives were frantically looking for loved ones missing since the rush-hour blasts on Thursday morning.

Police said the process of recovering bodies could continue for days in a hot, narrow and rat-infested tunnel deep below ground at King's Cross station.

"This is going to be a very long process...the conditions are extremely difficult. They're working their way through and bodies have been removed. We're very conscious of the anguish of those who are awaiting news of their loved ones," said Andy Trotter, deputy chief constable at British Transport Police.

DEADLIEST ATTACK

The government said people across the nation would be asked to observe two minutes' silence at noon on Thursday, a week after the deadliest peacetime attack on the capital.

Police, who have made no arrests, said they were looking for no specific individuals and the bombs were made of high explosive, not home-made materials.

A third Islamist group claimed responsibility for the blasts, which government ministers said bore the hallmarks of the Islamic militant al Qaeda network which was behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

"All three bombs on the London Underground system actually exploded within seconds of each other at around 8:50 in the morning," Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick told a news conference.

He said the fact that the bombs went off within 50 seconds of each other suggested they were set off by timers rather than detonated manually, although police did not rule that out.

Police previously believed the three blasts were spread over nearly half an hour, but revised their information in the light of new technical data and witness statements, he said.

ODD ONE OUT

The fourth bomb exploded on a bus near Euston railway station at 9:47 a.m.

"The most logical explanation is that one of the terrorists was unable to board an underground train -- probably because of the rapid closure of the system -- and ended up with a primed bomb and no target," said Dominic Armstrong, head of research and intelligence at security group Aegis Defence Services.

"In the circumstances, it seems understandable that he should seek another similar target quickly."

Flowers, notes and appeals for information about missing relatives piled up outside King's Cross station. About 30 people, of many nationalities and religions, were still unaccounted for.

"Barbarism will never kill freedom," read one note in French. "Madrid is with London," said another. Train bombings linked to al Qaeda killed 191 people in Madrid last year.

Prime Minister Tony Blair told BBC radio: "This type of terrorism has very deep roots...it is only when you start to pull it up by the roots that you will deal with it."

BUSH: 'STAY ON THE OFFENCE'

His key ally, U.S. President George W. Bush, reiterated this admiration for Britain's calm reaction and resilience.

Warning Americans the threat of attacks remained, he said in his weekly radio address: "We will stay on the offence, fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them at home."

Police said 49 people were confirmed dead in London, but emergency staff were still trying to retrieve bodies in one of the subway system's deepest tunnels. One expert likened the conditions to working in a "foetid drain".

Police say there could be more attacks and security experts suggest would-be attackers could opt to kill themselves and take as many victims with them as possible if confronted.

"It's perfectly possible ... terrorists could strike again. This time they got through but we are quite determined to redouble our efforts to keep London safe," Trotter said.

Life was returning to normal in the capital on Saturday but there were a number of false alarms, including one at an underground station.

NEW CLAIM

A group which said it had links to al Qaeda called the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades said it was behind the blasts and suggested it could strike again. It was the third such claim by an Islamist group since the explosions.

The group has said it was behind previous attacks in Turkey and Spain. However, intelligence sources treated its statements with scepticism, seeing it as an opportunistic group trying to associate itself with al Qaeda.

Two other groups had already claimed responsibility for the London attacks, saying the blasts were punishment for Britain's involvement in Iraq, and other U.S. allies could be next.

Parts of London's transport network, which carries three million people a day, could be disrupted for weeks.

[cannedmoose]

Jesus man, don't do that to me... I thought they'd actually bombed Birmingham...