DAR AL HARB - U.K.: UNEXPLODED 'MERCEDES' GOLDMINES OF INFORMATION FOR FORENSIC SCIENTISTS

Absence of suicide bombers made plan more complex
by Andrew Alderson and Sean Rayment in London

FORENSIC scientists are poring over two "goldmines" - the Mercedes cars filled with petrol, gas and nails that failed to explode in central London.

Scores of specialists were taking the vehicles apart at secret locations, confident that they would find crucial clues to the identity of the terrorists. Police expect to find DNA from the bombers and to secure evidence about where the bomb material came from.

The car bombs are of the kind used daily in Iraq but, unlike attacks there, the militants operating in London were not suicide bombers prepared to sacrifice themselves for their "cause".

It is the first time that so-called "vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices" have been used in an attack in Britain since the Irish Republican Army abandoned its terrorist campaign. The IRA, however, always tested its bombs before a mission. It appeared the London bombers had been unable to try theirs out, as both failed to explode.

The decision not to use suicide bombers is regarded as noteworthy because it makes the planning of operations far more complex. It may also suggest a shortage of volunteers prepared to die in al-Qaeda's pursuit of global holy war.

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1) Absence of suicide bombers made plan more complex