Bomb Explodes Outside London Airline Office

A bomb exploded before dawn today outside the ground floor office of British Airways on Oxford Street, London’s main shopping thoroughfare. The blast touched off a fire, but few people were in the area and only one passer-by was treated for shock.

Two groups claimed responsibility for the bombing, the latest in a series of terrorists acts aimed at British targets since Britain supported the U.S. bombing raid on Libya.

Press Assn., the British news agency, said it was contacted by the Angry Brigade, an anarchist group, which claimed it planted the bomb in retaliation for British involvement in the bombing of Libya. Also claiming responsibility, Press Assn. said, was the Scottish National Liberation Army, a group seeking independence for Scotland.

The 4:50 a.m. blast and fire blew out one large window in the six-story building and shattered and blackened others. Charred walls could be seen inside. The sidewalk was covered with glass shards, and there appeared to be some structural damage.

The explosion also blew out windows in other buildings in the area, and police said it was heard several miles away.

Oxford Street Closed Off

Police cordoned off Oxford Street to search for other devices, snarling morning rush-hour traffic. The street was reopened seven hours after the explosion, but the area around state-owned British Airways was sealed off as forensic experts went over the debris.

Police closed Victoria Station, the busiest in London, and evacuated the area for several minutes this morning because of a bomb scare that turned out to be a hoax.

News reports said the bomb, left on a sidewalk outside the airline office, was hidden among bags of garbage.

American Airlines and American Express have counters in the British Airways office, but Scotland Yard spokesman Philip Powell said the British airline appeared to be the target of the bomb. The U.S. Embassy is a few hundred yards from the building where the bomb went off.

Cmdr. George Churchill-Coleman, head of Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist squad, refused to comment on news reports that the bombers may have intended the device to explode when Oxford Street was crowded with shoppers but got the timing wrong.