Chemical Weapons Vest

That title might sound like the name of a techno punk band, but it's the focus of a growing British investigation in the wake of a raid on a British home yesterday.

British anti-terrorist police are hunting for a "dirty" chemical bomb that could be used in an attack in Britain after a major raid failed to uncover a device they believe exists, newspapers reported on Saturday.

More than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, shot one man and arrested another during a dawn raid on an east London house on Friday.

Police made no official comment on the reports but said nothing suspicious had been found in an initial search of the property. They had also reassured the public in the surrounding area there was nothing to suggest they were at risk.

The operation, one of the biggest since last July's suicide bombings in the capital, was prompted by suspicions that the house could have been used for making bombs or chemical weapons.

"Because of the very specific nature of the intelligence, we planned an operation that was designed to mitigate any threat to the public either from firearms or from hazardous substances," said Peter Clarke, head of the UK's anti-terrorism branch.

Some newspapers, citing unnamed security sources, said police believed suspected militants had made a "dirty" chemical device -- a conventional bomb surrounded by toxic material that could be set off by a bomber wearing a suicide jacket.

British security officials were concerned that such a device might be used imminently "... with possible targets including the underground train network or pubs crowded with fans watching the soccer World Cup tournament which starts next week."

Islamic terrorists have been toying with the idea of spiking their bombs with all kinds of chemcials. In the 1993 WTC bombing, the Islamic terrorists sought to detonate the bomb and disperse chlorine gas that would cause additional casualties in the area. Meanwhile, Israel has been dealing with this kind of threat for some time now, and in fact, Israeli doctors have seen numerous victims succumb to injuries sustained in various suicide bombings because the shrapnel used by the Islamic terrorists was dipped in anti-coagulant chemicals like rat poision, which make it extremely difficult to control bleeding.

One 23-year old man was shot, and his 20 year old brother was arrested in the raid.

The BBC has learned that the suspects are Abdul Kahar, who was shot, and Abdul Koyar, who are both of Bangladeshi origin.

A single shot was fired, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which will continue to investigate over the weekend.

One line of inquiry is that there was a struggle with police and a gun went off accidentally, says BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw.