Footage Confirms Recon by London Bombers

You’ve heard it before and you need to hear it again – a reliable precursor to a terrorist attack is the rehearsal of the attack.

U.K. authorities released surveillance camera footage showing three of the July 7 London bombers conducting a test run less than two weeks prior to their attack. (Photo of video above). Evidence shows the three suspects entering a train station, arriving in London, and entering London's subway system. The route taken by the suspects on June 28 was the same route they took on July 7, and the suspects spent about three hours in London during the rehearsal. The discovery of train tickets and receipts from the suspects dated June 28 lead law enforcement to check the video tapes from that day, which uncovered the dry run.

The U.K.'s head of anti-terrorism, Peter Clarke, said the surveillance trip indicates that the suspects planned the attacks carefully: "This is quite typical of terrorists' methods: to reconnoiter the layout, the timings, to check security."

Security forces, employees and citizens can aid in the indentification of potential terrorists and prevention of potential terrorist attacks by being educated about typical terrorist surveillance and reconnasaince techniques.