Anarchist Group Claim Attack On Railway Signaling

Responsibility for two attacks on railway line signalling in Bristol has been claimed by anarchist organisation, the Informal Anarchist Federation.

British transport police (BTP) and Network Rail have confirmed that signalling cable was destroyed on Tuesday morning in two separate incidents of arson in north and south Bristol, which caused "extensive damage" and substantial delays to passengers.

The anarchist group has warned of further "guerrilla" attacks and sabotage in order to "hurt the national image and paralyse the economy however we can".

On Wednesday the group posted a statement on the Indymedia Bristol website saying it had "struck two points on the railway routes into Bristol", adding that members had "lifted concrete slabs running alongside the tracks and burned out the signalling cables found in the trench underneath".

Describing its motivations, the group said those points on the track had been chosen to target employees of the Ministry of Defence, "military industry companies" such as Raytheon, Thales, HP and QinetiQ, and the "corporate hub of Bristol".

In the 450-word statement the group promised further attacks, saying: "Finance, judicial, communications, military and transport infrastructure will continue to be targets of the new generation of urban low-intensity warfare."

The statement went on to describe the Olympics as a "spectacle of wealth" in a time of austerity, ending by saying it wanted "civil war" and that anarchy was "unavoidable".

(H/GK)