Friday, July 22 2005 16:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Police today (July 22, 2005) shot a suspected suicide bomber near a tube station in south London, a day after attacks on three subway trains and a bus in the British capital, Sky News reported.

It was not clear what the suspect's injuries were, who was shot near Stockwell tube station as passengers were evacuated.

"We were on the tube and we suddenly heard someone say 'get out, get out' and then we heard gunshots," Sky News quoted a passenger as saying.

"There is no word on whether he has been killed or simply injured," it said.

Another passenger told BBC that he saw an Asian being shot five times by "plain-clothes police officers" and he is dead. However, there was no police confirmation on this.

"I saw an Asian guy run onto the train hotly pursued by three plain-clothes police officers," he said.

"One of them was carrying a black handgun - it looked like an automatic - they pushed him to the floor, bundled on top of him and unloaded five shots into him."

The incident came even as Scotland Yard spread its dragnet to trace four would-be suicide bombers who are on the run after targeting three tube trains and a bus yesterday (July 21,2005).

Police are looking for forensic evidence, fingerprints and other clues at each of the sites of the attempted explosions after the recovery of four devices, which were contained in rucksacks.

Terrorism experts believe that the failed explosives will provide police with a "forensic goldmine" and a wealth of clues to the identities of those behind yesterday's bomb attacks, exactly two weeks after the July 7 serial blasts which killed 56 and injured 700 in the city.

Police said two persons were arrested in connection with the explosions, including one from the Downing Street area, which has the residence of Prime Minister Tony Blair, but both were released without any charge after interrogation.

Police do not rule out the possibilities of associates of the July 7 terror gang being behind yesterday's events in view of the similarities between the attacks.

Other possibility being considered by police was that yesterday's bungled bombings were an attempt at a copycat assault on London's transport network.

Even in failure, the nature of the terrorists was evident in their tactics. Witnesses said that one of the bombers was standing beside a woman holding a baby when he triggered his bomb as the train pulled into the Oval tube station.