UK consulate blast may have Middle East link

Reuters | May 5, 2005
By Mark Egan and Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK - Two homemade grenades exploded outside the building housing the British Consulate's office before dawn on the day of the election, but police said later on Thursday it may be linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Windows were shattered, but no injuries were reported and no motive was known for the incident, which security experts said highlighted the city's continued vulnerability despite its high-alert status and measures undertaken since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The explosions at the midtown Manhattan office block near the United Nations occurred shortly after 3:30 a.m./8.30 a.m. (British time) when two metal dummy grenades packed with gunpowder exploded in a concrete flower box, police said.

"We do not at this point have any idea who did it or a motive," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference near the building, which also houses other offices of foreign companies.

"It is true the British Consulate is in that building, but I don't think anybody should jump to conclusions," Bloomberg said, adding no one had claimed responsibility.

Later, police chief Raymond Kelly told reporters he was also looking at another possible target -- a board member of Caterpillar who works in the building. The company sells bulldozers used by Israel to raze Palestinian homes.

Kelly noted there had been an April 13 protest outside the building by a group called Jews Against the Occupation.

On its web site, the group describes itself as a group of "American Jews (who) reject the Israeli government assertion that it is 'necessary' to subjugate Palestinians for the sake of keeping Jews safe."

A spokesman for Caterpillar could not immediately be reached.

Police were examining videotape from security cameras that appeared to show a cyclist lighting and then throwing the grenades toward the building before fleeing the scene, law enforcement sources said.

The incident, which briefly upset London financial markets, occurred as voters were deciding whether to return Prime Minister Tony Blair for a third term in office. In the short general election campaign Blair battled public anger against his support of the war in Iraq.

British Consul General Philip Thomas said: "I can't speculate about who this bomb might have been aimed at, whether it was us or someone else."

U.S. CITIES VULNERABLE

Howard Safir, police chief under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, said security in New York remains a grave concern, given how easy it is to obtain explosives and parts that can be fashioned into crude but potentially deadly bombs in America.

He said such devices are typically used to generate publicity rather than casualties. The grenade shells, without explosives, can be bought on the Internet for about $7 (3.70 pounds) each.

New York has remained on high alert since the September 11 attacks, when hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Centre's twin towers. City police now regularly hold security drills with machine gun toting police ever more common.

Following the incident, the United Nations announced it was increasing security at its New York buildings as a precaution although it had no specific threat.

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