May 26, 2003	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23,1424

LONDON, May 25: Police and intelligence services are hunting two men in Britain who have been trained as suicide bombers by Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, the Sunday Times reported.

The Sunday Express said separately that tourist sites in central London had been sealed off or given extra protection amid fears of an imminent terrorist bombing attempt, following the interception of e-mails and phone conversations between suspects.

Undercover police squads trailing suspected Muslim extremists have been told they must shoot to kill if they believe there is risk of attack, the paper added.

An unnamed government source told the tabloid: “The plan involved two devices planned to go off together to create as many casualties as possible.”

On Friday, London police stepped up security at Heathrow airport and put up concrete blocks around the Palace of Westminster, a move designed to stop any terrorist attempt to slam a truck bomb into the seat of Britain’s parliament.

Police said the moves were part of continuing security operations and there had been no specific terror threat.

The measures came following suicide bombings in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya, and a message from an Al Qaeda leader urging attacks on British and US interests.—AFP