An al-Qaeda-linked group posted an Internet statement today claiming responsibility for the bomb attacks in London on Thursday in which 49 people have been confirmed killed, promising more attacks in city, which it described as the "capital of the infidels".
The group, which calls itself the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade, posted the claim on an Islamic website where similar claims for responsibility have appeared in the past. Its authenticity could not be immediately verified.
"Our words have not gone with the wind and our strikes have not stopped. Thanks to God, a group of Mujahedeen from the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades launched strike after strike in the capital of the Kufr, the infidels," said the statement, posted on the Arabic-language news website.
"Blessed is this conquest. The coming days will show a greater expression of jihad (holy war) against those who declared war against Islam and Muslims," said the statement. "We will not keep quiet or stay idle until Islam is safe in the lands of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine."
Another group, calling itself The Secret Organisation of al-Qaeda in Europe, issued a claim of responsibility for the London attacks hours after the blasts ripped through the underground and one bus.
Both groups have claimed they were behind the bombs on commuter trains in Madrid in March 2004 which killed 191 people.
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades are named for a former top lieutenant of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
AP