Britons pay price for rulers' deeds

"The people of Britain are facing trouble only because of the evil deeds and oppression of their rulers," spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Hakimi said the Taliban were neither sad nor happy about the four bombs on London's transport network that killed more than 50 people and wounded about 700.

"Had these blasts been directed at Britain's military targets or inflicted losses on the British government then we would have been very happy," he said.

Taliban fighters would attack British troops in Afghanistan but they were not involved in the London bombs, he said.

"We will take revenge on Britain in Afghanistan but, nevertheless, the Taliban have nothing to do with these blasts," he said.