Was Tiger Tiger nightclub the target?

LONDON (Reuters) - Friday's unexploded bomb in Haymarket, found at 2 a.m. outside the Tiger Tiger bar complex, could indicate that it was intended to blow up nightclubbers.

Police could not confirm clubbers were the target but described the area as one of the busiest parts of central London, teeming with many people at that time leaving nightclubs and other places after an evening out.

Many of the partygoers were women, attending Ladies' Night at Tiger Tiger.

The device would almost certainly have caused considerable loss of life if it had gone off, police said.

Tiger Tiger is part of a national chain, and the Haymarket outlet can accommodate hundreds of revelers in its Oriental cocktail bar, restaurant and dance floor.

Pubgoers would also have been in the area, possibly having spent an evening at one of the many theatres in the area, such as Her Majesty's Theatre and the Theatre Royal.

It would not be the first time nightclubs have featured as a recent target for bombers in the UK.

In April, five Britons were found guilty of plotting to carry out al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain, with nightclubs among their targets.

Convicted Islamist militant Dhiren Barot, who was jailed last year, admitted he had been planning to explode gas and explosives packed into limousines or other large vehicles in underground car parks.

Details of the plan, known as the "Gas Limos Project", were found on a laptop computer during a search in Pakistan, and were thought by police to have been compiled to present to senior al Qaeda leaders for a proposed attack.