Two explosions in New York City at 4 AM this morning


(by mgh)

Two bombs, reported to be fake grenades packed with real explosives, were detonated in front of the British consulate at Third Ave. and 51st St. in Manhattan early this morning. (New York Times report)

My hope is that it was an isolated attack by an individual acting alone.

My fear is that it was Al Qaeda, or another group, testing the city's response and defenses.

In a recent attack against a Marine outpost in Iraq, the old "guerilla hit-and-run" style attack was replaced by a more sophisticated, coordinated attack including the use of diversionary fire to lure forces away from the site of an impending main assault.

If a group were planning a major attack in New York, they would want to know how much of the city's fire, police, and emergency forces could be diverted with these tactics. These bombs may have been a "test run" probing at the city's response plan.

Fortunately, because the area was empty at that hour, no one was injured. And hopefully it was nothing more than a disturbed person acting alone.

I posted a teaser yesterday about what the biggest issue of this fall's mayoral race would be.

The answer just exploded at Third and 51st.

Posted: Thu - May 5, 2005 at 07:38 AM   | Category:     |   |   | |


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