Feel funny they didn't target leadership but hurt innocents? Let's see some followup on the Downing Street Memos and the rush to war that occurred before 9/11/2001. And maybe some socially backward asshats won't mock the innocents who lives were lost in the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami as many could see in the Yahoo news comments on the tragedy.
Here's a run down from the Wikipedia:
7 July 2005 London bombings
From Flickr with perimission of photographer - Evacuation of King's Cross
All times are in British Summer Time (BST), which is 1 hour ahead of UTC (UTC+1 / GMT+1)
A series of four bomb explosions struck London's transport system during the morning rush hour on Thursday, July 7, 2005. Three Underground trains were hit within half an hour, and a bus was hit 30 minutes later. At least 38 people were confirmed dead as a result of the attack, with the number of injured reported as high as 700. This number was expected to rise as authorities surveyed the impact of the blasts.
The incidents led to the complete shut-down of the London Underground network and many roads near the affected stations were closed, severely snarling road traffic. Mainline services into many London stations terminated outside the city for most of the day, though all but King's Cross had fully re-opened by 17:30. The city's bus network was shut down in the central zone (Zone 1) until approximately 16:00.
This is the deadliest single act of terrorism within the United Kingdom since the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie (which killed 270 people).
Stations closed or affected by the July 7th 2005 Bombings
Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the House of Commons that four blasts had been confirmed: three explosions took place on the London Underground in central London and one on a London Buses Dennis Trident ALX400 red double-decker bus, in London's rush hour.
Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said that explosions were probably the result of a "major terrorist attack" but did not wish to speculate on the organisation involved. The bombings came while the UK hosted the first full day of the 31st G8 summit at Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, and a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
People trapped in the underground. Photo credit: Adam Stacey. From moblog.co.uk
London Underground
Londons Russell square (at the corner of Wobum Street looking at Bernard Street (left)) Wo cordoned off
- Hammersmith and City Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate East at 08:51
- Piccadilly Line between King's Cross St. Pancras and Russell Square at 08:56
- Circle Line at Edgware Road at 09:17. Explosion at approximatively 100 yards in the tunnel. There was an explosion on a train which blew through a wall onto another train on an adjoining platform. Five trains are believed to have been involved.
The number of explosions was smaller than first thought, since some blasts occurred on trains that were between stations. The wounded emerged from both stations, giving the impression that there were incidents at each.
Double-decker bus
- An explosion occurred on a double-decker bus at 09:47 (the No. 30, Hackney to Marble Arch, operated by Stagecoach Group for Transport for London which was following a planned diversion from its normal route) in Tavistock Square outside the British Medical Association (BMA) building on Upper Woburn Place, ripping the roof off the top deck and destroying the back of the bus. BBC Radio Five Live and The Sun reported that two injured victims from the bus bombing said that they saw a man exploded in the bus, giving strong indication of a suicide bombing. [1]
Casualties
| Location | Deaths |
| Aldgate East / Liverpool Street | 7 |
| King's Cross / Russell Square | 21 |
| Edgware Road Station | 7 |
| Bus in Tavistock Square | 2 |
| Various hospitals (after the events) | 1 |
| Total | 38 |
Senior official sources have confirmed that at least 38 people have been killed. This toll may rise when the number of deaths resulting from the Tavistock Square bus bombing is known.[2] These bombings are the second-most deadly peacetime terrorist attacks ever in the United Kingdom, after Lockerbie (the 1998 Omagh bombing killed 29 people, the 1974 Birmingham pub bombing killed 21 and the 1999 London nail bombings killed three and injured 160), and the deadliest attack in London itself since the Second World War.
At least 90 injuries were reported from Aldgate East Station alone. Ninety-five of the injured were taken by bus to the Royal London Hospital where they were treated; seventeen were in critical condition. Many others were being treated at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. Individuals who were wounded and walking were treated at the scene; an eyewitness reported that they were “operating on injured people on the concourse at Liverpool Street station.” [3] Paramedics were sent down into the tube system to search for more casualties. St. John Ambulance was called out to assist the London Ambulance Service [4], and hospitals had to call in off-duty staff, plus doctors from as far afield as Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
Recent reports state that 300 people (208 at Royal London Hospital alone [5]) are being treated in hospital and 150 of those are in a serious condition. Many are foreign nationals. Police reported the total number of wounded reached as high as 700 people, but not all of these have necessarily received treatment.
Other events
Additional reports indicate that there have been unspecified incidents at Brighton, Luton, and Swindon. These stations have been closed and there has been no official confirmation of the nature of the incidents, if any actually occurred. BBC World reported that the stations had been evacuated due to "security incidents". East Croydon station was closed due to a suspect package, but was later re-opened.
In Brighton there was a controlled explosion of a suspicious briefcase at approximately 12:55 local time in a telephone box outside of Brighton station. The briefcase was later found to be harmless, and the station was re-opened. [6]
There were reports of Victoria Station being cordoned off by police amid reports of a "suspicious package" on a bus near the station. The station has also been re-opened since, according to the BBC.
There have been reports of a controlled explosion at Coventry bus station.
Two controlled explosions have been carried out on a Lothian Buses double-decker on Princes Street in the centre of Edinburgh at around 17:30 BST, neither contained explosives.[7]
In Poole, the train station was also closed in response to the discovery of a suspicious package. Staff and customers were locked in the supermarket building opposite. The package was later detonated by Police in a controlled explosion [8]
Vodafone reported that its mobile phone network reached capacity at about 10:00 on the day of the incident, and it was forced to initiate emergency procedures to prioritise emergency calls. Other mobile phone networks have also reported failures. The BBC had speculated that the phone system has been closed by the security services to prevent the possibility of mobile phones being used to trigger bombs. BBC later reported that mobile networks were running again.
For most of the day, London's mass transit system was effectively paralysed, significantly because of the complete closure of the underground system and the Zone 1 closure of the bus networks, as well as evacuation of Russell Square.
Prime Minister of France Dominique de Villepin announced that France had increased its level of terror alert to red, the second-highest level, in response to the events in London. [9] Meanwhile, Berlin transport officials indicated that security alert levels for the public transport system of the German capital had been raised to yellow, the second of three levels. [10]
In the United States, transit authorities in New York City and Washington, D.C. have raised their alert level to orange, the second highest level.
Cause
The first reports suggested that a power surge in the Underground power grid had caused explosions in power circuits. However, this was later ruled out by the National Grid, the power suppliers. Commentators suggested that the explanation had arisen because of bomb damage to power lines along the tracks; the rapid series of power failures caused by the explosions looked similar, from the point of view of a control room operator, to a cascading series of circuit breaker operations that would result from a major power surge. One eyewitness reported:
- I was in the midst of this when it happened. The Metropolitan line was halted, then the Jubilee. The train driver announced a "power surge on the combine", which is probably a prearranged message to prevent panic in an emergency. Trains were then brought into the nearest station and the passengers requested to evacuate. The tube staff were very calm and efficient, and I didn't see any panic. There was definitely a sense that something unusual had happened, and people were mostly silent as we filed out to the sound of recorded evacuation messages. [11]
At approximately 11:10 UTC 7 July 2005, BBC News reported that a website known to be operated by associates of Al Qaeda had been located with a 200 word statement claiming responsibility for the attacks. German magazine Der Spiegel [12] reported that a group named 'Secret Organisation – al?Qaeda in Europe' had posted a claim of responsibility on the "al-Qala'a" internet forum, which has been a source for genuine claims in the past. The letter also warned other governments involved in Iraq (mentioning specifically Denmark and Italy) to leave Iraq and Afghanistan. A Saudi commentator in London, however, noted that the Arabic of the statement was grammatically poor, and that a Qur'anic quotation was incorrect, which was not typical of Al Qaeda.
Arab sources monitoring terrorist networks have told BBC News that it is highly likely to be an Al Qaeda attack. Unconfirmed reports indicate that an Islamist website has carried a statement by a European group allied to Al-Qaida which claims responsibility for the attacks.
The attacks bear similarities to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and suggest an attack in the style of Al-Qaeda, security analysts said. “The first thing that's very obvious is the synchronized nature of the attacks, and that's pretty classic for al Qaeda or al Qaeda-related organizations,” Budapest-based security analyst Sebestyen Gorka told Reuters.
The London Metropolitan Police Chief, Sir Ian Blair, stated that he believed that the explosions were "probably a major terrorist attack". He also indicated that police had found indications of explosives at one of the blast sites [13]. Police investigators so far are unsure whether the blasts involved planted explosives or suicide bombers.
Late in the day, it was reported that two unexploded bombs along with evidence of timing devices were found. [14] This information was not yet confirmed in any news conference as of midnight, however.
Responsibility
German online news magazine Spiegel Online (website of magazine Der Spiegel) [15] and BBC Monitoring have both reported that a group named 'Secret Organisation – al-Qaeda in Europe' has posted an announcement claiming responsibility on the Al-Qal3ah (The Castle) forums [16], [17]. The announcement claims the attacks are a response due to the British involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda involvement is considered likely, as it follows their pattern:
- bombs were detonated essentially simultaneously
- no warnings were given
- the bombs were detonated early in the day to catch the news
- the bombs were detonated at a time and location designed to inflict maximum death and injury to a civilian population
Translated statement
On 7 July, a person using the name "Nur al-Iman" and identified as a "new guest", posted to Qal3ah with a statement issued by "The Secret Organisation Group of Al-Qa'ida of Jihad Organisation in Europe". In the statement, the group claims responsibility for the London "raid". The following is a translated text of the statement:
- In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate, may peace be upon the cheerful one and undaunted fighter, Prophet Muhammad, God's peace be upon him.
- Nation of Islam and Arab nation: Rejoice for it is time to take revenge against the British Zionist crusader government in retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroic mujahideen [holy warriors] have carried out a blessed raid in London. Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters.
- We have repeatedly warned the British government and people. We have fulfilled our promise and carried out our blessed military raid in Britain after our mujahideen exerted strenuous efforts over a long period of time to ensure the success of the raid.
- We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all the crusader governments that they will be punished in the same way if they do not withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. He who warns is excused.
- Allah says: "If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly." [ Qur'an Sura 47:7] USC parallel Qur'an (Translation of Yusuf Ali)
screen capture of Nur al-Iman's claim of responsibility
One translator from US network MSNBC expressed scepticism at the legitimacy of this claim, claiming there is a "mistake" in the quoted verse from the Qur'an. [18] The verse, as quoted in the letter, is missing the beginning of the original Qur'anic verse, which begins with "Ya ayyuhal Lathee (O you who believe!) ..." That is to say, the verse is quoted only partially, which may or may not be a mistake.
The second paragraph of this statement provides a hint that something went wrong in al Qaeda's plot. The author claims that "Britain is burning with fear... in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters." However, when seen on a map, it becomes clear that two explosions occured in the north, while none occured in the south. Also, while eyewitnesses claim to have "seen a man explode" on the bus which was attacked, no evidence of suicide attacks has appeared on the tube explosions. All this points to the fact that the bomber on the bus was in the act of transporting his bomb to a southern tube station, where it could have inflicted more damage. However, it detonated before he could arrive at his target. This scenario explains the discrepancies between the online statement and the actual events, as well as showing that the attack was not as perfectly coordinated as previously believed.
Response
There have been many responses to the attacks from around the world. See: Response to the 2005 London bombings.
Economic impact
There were limited immediate economic effects, as measured by financial market activity. The pound fell 0.89 cents to a 19-month low against the U.S. dollar. Stock markets fell less than some had feared.
The FTSE 100 Index fell by about 200 points in the two hours after the first attack. This was its biggest fall since the start of the Iraq war. However, by the time it closed the market had recovered to just 71.3 points (1.36%) down on the previous day's three-year closing high. Markets in France, Germany, Holland and Spain also closed about 1% down on the day. [19]
U.S. market indexes actually rose slightly during the day, possibly because the dollar index rose sharply against the European currencies.
Message from dispatch
As the London Underground service was disrupted, a series of messages were sent to bus drivers about how they should proceed. The first message told drivers to accept ticket holders between several stations due to power lines, which is not an uncommon message and is usually sent when there is disruption of normal service. The second message was a repeat of the first message, but with different stations included. The third message said "Call from Centrecom: All tube stations are closed. Please accept anyone who wishes to board and there are no fare charges. Anyone who attempts to pay £1.20, tell them there is no charge". The fourth message said: "Call from Centrecom. All buses are not to enter Zone 1 Central London. Please terminate at Zone 2/1 and do not enter central London". The fifth and final message said: "Call from Centrecom. Can all buses please pull over whenever safe to do so and please check the bus for any lost property. Make sure all passengers have their belongings. If there is any lost property on the bus, please evacuate the bus and tell people to stand away from the bus and proceed to call Centrecom. Do not use the radio, do not use a mobile, but call us on a landline."
Timeline
All times are in British Summer Time (BST) which is 1 hour ahead of UTC (UTC+1 / GMT+1).
- 08:51: Initial reports of an incident between Liverpool Street and Aldgate East tube stations, either an explosion or a collision between trains. The reports from the two stations were initially thought to relate to two separate incidents.
- 08:56: Explosion on train between Kings' Cross and Russell Square. Eyewitnesses report explosion appeared to come from outside the train.
- 09:17: Explosion on train at Edgware Road station.
- 09:28: Tube operator Metronet says the incident was caused by some sort of power surge.
- 09:33: Reports of an incident at Edgware Road tube station. Reports that passengers on a train hit by an explosion attempted to break windows with umbrellas in order to escape.
- 09:46: British Transport Police announce there had been more explosions at Kings' Cross, Old Street, Moorgate, and Russell Square.
- 09:47: Explosion on number 30 bus traveling between Hackney and Marble Arch at Upper Woburn Place/Tavistock Square.
- 09:49: Whole London Underground system shut down.
- 10:00: National Grid announce there had been no problem with power surges.
- 10:40: First report of fatalities, government source speaks of 20 dead.
- 11:08: Bus services suspended across central London.
- 11:10: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair confirms fears that it is a coordinated terror attack, but appeals for calm, asking people not to travel to London or make unnecessary calls to the emergency services.
- 12:05: Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks out on the incident, calling the attacks a coordinated series of "barbaric" terrorist attacks.
- 17:30: Having flown back from Scotland, Prime Minister Tony Blair emerges from a meeting in Downing Street and urges the public not to "be terrorised"
- 18:13: Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Paddick confirms 37 fatalities: two in the bus explosion at Upper Woburn Place/Tavistock Square, seven at Liverpool Street/Aldgate East, seven at Edgware Road, and twenty-one in the Kings Cross/Russell Square blast, as well as around seven hundred injuries, with roughly three hundred of those being transported by ambulance to London hospitals.
- 21:40: The Metropolitan Police announce that a person injured in one of the blasts has since died in hospital care, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities to 38.
Contact instructions
- Casualty Hotline (Metropolitan Police): 0870 156 6344 (UK) +44 870 156 6344 (International)
- Metropolitan Police: 020 7766 6020 (UK) +44 20 7766 6020 (International)
- British Transport Police: 020 8358 0101 (UK) +44 20 8358 0101 (International)
- Those outside the UK should see the list of Foreign Ministry contact details.
Do not call the London emergency services line unless you are reporting "life-threatening" circumstances.
See also:
- Islamist terror bombings in France (July – October 1995)
- 9/11 attacks in the United States (11 September 2001)
- Jerusalem bus 20 massacre (21 November 2002)
- Jerusalem bus 2 massacre (19 August 2003)
- Moscow Metro bombing (6 February 2004)
- Madrid train bombings (11 March 2004)
- Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway (20 March 1995)
External links and references
- Google News — Search Google News for "London Bombings"
- Newsnow London Explosions — More news headlines related to this topic
- Transport for London Website — Current status of London transport
- [20] — Liftshare
- London responds — Wiki-based links collection and home base for "london77" tag
News articles
- Guardian Newsblog live coverage — Bomb blasts plunge London into chaos (rolling post through day)
- [21] -The Economist Display Story
- London Explosions — BBC News In Depth page
- 'Bombs' injure dozens — Sky News
- Multiple explosions rock London — CNN
- Many hurt as blasts rock London — The Guardian
- London blasts: At a glance — BBC News: Timeline of events so far
- Timeline of London blasts — CNN
- Al-Qaida blamed as London blasts kills 37 — The Jerusalem Post
- A Letter To The Terrorists, From London — The London News Review
- London blast: survivors' tales — The Times
- At least 12 killed as explosions rock London — CTV
- Aanslagen in Londen (From Indymedia.nl — Article in Dutch, additional links to English and German news sources)
- London: Explosion Updates (From Indymedia UK)
- canada.com coverage — canada.com
Live streams
- BBC TV: Windows Media Stream, Real Media Stream, Radio Five Live.
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation — ABC (Windows media)
- Radio RampART (web radio, London) — c/o the Radical Radio Coalition (Edinburgh/International)
Photographs
- Footage (photos and videos) from NowPublic
- 7/7 Community (formerly London Bomb Blasts - Flickr Photoset
- Moblog photo from Tube on the morning of 7 July 2005
- Location of Terrorists attacks via satellite imagery
Survivor lists Web pages collecting survivor notifications
Missing Persons lists Web pages collecting missing person notifications
Theological reflection
posted by Coat @ 8:17 PM
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