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2007 London car bombs

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On 29 June 2007, two unexploded car bombs were discovered in London, in the United Kingdom. The first device was found near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket. The device was removed and later disassembled by explosives officers. Several reports were made to the police, including one from an ambulance crew that saw what looked like smoke in the car (which later transpired to be petrol evaporating) some time after 01:25 (BST) after being called to the nightclub to attend to a man who had fallen over and suffered a minor head injury.[1] The car was a 1989[2] light metallic green Mercedes 300E saloon.

2007 London Car Bombs
The Mercedes-Benz on Haymarket covered by a tent
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Date29 June 2007
TargetHaymarket,
Park Lane
Attack type
Attempted car bombs
Injured0
PerpetratorsUnknown number, identities as yet unknown

Around 04:00 there were reports that two large gas canisters and a large number of nails had been found in the car.[3][4][5] The second device was left in a blue Mercedes-Benz saloon car in nearby Cockspur Street,[6] but was not discovered until after the car had been towed away as it was found to be illegally parked.[7]


Timeline

 
Haymarket
Time (UTC+1) Event
29 June 2007
01:25 London Ambulance Service crew report seeing smoke in a car parked in Haymarket. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen the car being driven "erratically" and then crashing into bins, after which the driver got out and ran off.[3]
02:00 Metropolitan Police officers investigate the vehicle and cordon off the area.[3]
02:30 A second car is found illegally parked in Cockspur Street, near Trafalgar Square.[8]
03:30 The second car is taken to a car pound in Park Lane. Police manually disable a device in the first car.[8]
04:00 A witness sees the police removing gas canisters from the car.
08:00 Piccadilly Circus Underground station is closed.
10:25 The car is taken from Haymarket and sent to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's research site at Fort Halstead in Kent.[9]
10:30 The government's COBR committee meets to discuss the issue. Piccadilly Circus Underground station is reopened.
14:30 Park Lane is closed off after a second suspect vehicle is discovered in an underground car park.[10]
15:45 A police bomb investigation robot is seen near the entrance to the car park.[10]
17:00 Police cordon off Fleet Street after finding a third suspicious vehicle.
18:00 Fleet Street re-opens after nothing is found in the vehicle.
19:00 Police confirm that a second device has been located at the Park Lane site.[7]
20:45 Police confirm that both vehicles were packed with nails, petrol and gas cylinders.[8]

First bomb

 
Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket.

The vehicle has been reported to have contained 60 litres of petrol, gas cylinders, and nails.[11] Scotland Yard has reported that while the gas contained in the canisters and the quantity of the canisters remains unknown, they do not wish to increase speculation and that further details will be given after they have been analysed by forensic experts. The head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command said, "It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been serious injury or loss of life."[3] However, the device could not have detonated, because it lacked an oxidizer, according to a columnist for The Register (UK).[12][13] This information may have originated from an interview of former CIA counter-terrorism officer Larry Johnson, conducted by Keith Olbermann of MSNBC on 29 June. [14]

According to Sky News, the gas cylinders contained propane gas, used for patio heaters.[4]

Second bomb

A second bomb was later found in a blue Mercedes-Benz 280E[8] believed to have been left in the same area at around the same time. The illegally-parked car received a parking ticket in Cockspur Street at 02:30. At about 03:30 the car was transported to the Park Lane car pound. Staff left the car in a public area after smelling petrol fumes and alerted police on hearing about the first bomb.[7][15]

Suspects

U.S. officials told NBC News that three men have been identified and are believed to be from Birmingham. Furthermore, the network reported that one of the three men could be an associate of Dhiren Barot, an Indian convert to Islam who was sentenced to life in prison last year for plotting to fill limousines with explosives similar to those found in these incidents and park them in garages beneath hotels and office complexes. Bharot, whom police described as a high-level al-Qaeda operative, also planned to attack five financial landmarks in the United States: the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup Tower in New York City; the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, both in Washington, D.C.; and the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey. Scotland Yard are denying claims from a report by ABC News that police had a "crystal clear" picture of one suspect from CCTV footage.[16]

A 27-year-old doctor Mohammed Haneef was arrested at Brisbane Airport on 2 July in connection with the bombings in the UK. The doctor works at the Gold Coast Hospital and is believed to be a junior doctor from India. He was arrested while trying to board a flight with a one way ticket to Bangalore, India, apparently to visit his newly born daughter. The arrest followed information received from the UK. [17] A second doctor was detained at the Gold Coast Hospital by police on 3 July 2007 and was later released.[citation needed]

Aftermath

A spokesperson for Pride London stated that the route of their gay pride march, set for 30 June 2007, would be unchanged although extra precautions such as removing bins would be implemented.[18] The police do not think the attacks were targeted at the event. Other suspicious vehicles in Park Lane and Fleet Street[19] were investigated by police, as well as reports of suspicious cars in other areas of the UK, such as Warrington,[20] which suffered a 1993 bomb attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[citation needed]

Office workers, students and tourists were still enjoying a Friday night out in London only hours after the discovery of the bombs. Bars and clubs remained open and London mayor Ken Livingstone urged the capital's communities to work together to defeat the terrorism threat.[21]

Security at Wimbledon was increased as a result of the incident.[22] Whitehall sources later stated that "international elements" were believed to be involved with the bomb.[3] Police claim to have a "crystal clear" picture of the driver of the first car and suspect he may be an individual formerly detained in relation to the case of convicted terrorist Dhiren Barot.[23] Barot was connected to an earlier "limousine bomb" plot, which also involved cars packed with propane gas cylinders.[6][24] One senior law enforcement official called the event a "terror plot involving Islamic extremists."[23]

CBS News has reported that a message appeared on the widely used jihadist Internet forum Al-Hesbah at 08:09, June 28 2007, stating: "Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed." The message went on to mention the recently announced knighthood of Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.[25]

The following day, in another incident, a Jeep Cherokee was set on fire and driven into the main departure terminal of Glasgow International Airport causing considerable damage. Two men, believed to be of Asian appearance, were arrested at the scene. One, who had been on fire, was taken to a nearby hospital and the other to a police station. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that the attack is being treated as a terrorist attack and that the United Kingdom terrorism threat level has been elevated from "Severe" to "Critical", meaning "further attacks are expected imminently". In a press conference Glasgow police said this attack and the car bombs in London are believed to be linked.[26][27][28]. The BBC reported that a mobile phone found after the arrest of the Glasgow suspects contained the numbers of those involved in the London bombing attempts. The Metropolitan Police say this is the first evidence they have linking the events.[citation needed]

In the United States White House press secretary Tony Snow said "There is no specific or credible evidence of any threat of any kind against the United States of America." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said there were no immediate plans to raise the U.S. national threat level, now at yellow, or elevated. In New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police would work extra hours in more locations. The police department increased patrols at high profile tourist areas such as Times Square, as well as the subways. Officers were told to give extra attention to parking garages and any suspicious vehicles. After the Glasgow attack patrols were increased at some airports.[29][30]

At approximately 21:30 on 30 June, officers of the Metropolitan Police and West Midlands Police arrested two people at junction 16 on the northbound M6 motorway near Sandbach in south Cheshire, blocking the motorway for about 40 minutes.[31]

Gordon Brown stated on July 1 that "[it is] clear that we are dealing, in general terms, with people who are associated with al-Qaeda."[32]

On July 4 a suicide note was found that police said belonged to two of the suspects.[33]

References

  1. ^ "Bomb Attempt: Police Briefing". Sky News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Car registration plate (G-prefix indicates 1989)". 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e "Police avert car bomb "carnage"". BBC News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Two Bombs Were Set To Blow In London". Sky News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Sky News Pictures - London bomb scare". Sky News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Two car bombs found in West End". BBC. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Duncan Gardham and Sally Peck (2007-06-29). "Second car bomb found in London's West End". Telegraph. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Telegraph1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c d "London car bombs timeline". BBC News. 2007-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Fort Halstead probes car in London security scare". Kent News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b "Central London street sealed off amid new alert". Yahoo! News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ BBC News: Q&A: Car bomb investigation, July 29, 2007
  12. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/29/more_fear_biscuits_please/
  13. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/02/terror_idiocy_outbreak/
  14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK5-jIfOBjQ&eurl=
  15. ^ "Police hunt for London car bomber". BBC News. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ MSNBC and NBC News: U.K. police hunt for London car bomb plotters, June 30, 2007
  17. ^ Daily Telegraph July 5 [1]
  18. ^ "Car bomb found in London". Pride London. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Peter Graff and Mark Trevelyan (2007-06-29). "Police find two car bombs in central London". Reuters UK. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Police lift town exclusion zone". BBC News Online. 2007-06-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Rupert Neate, Rachel Williams and Helen Pidd: Bomb alerts and travel chaos fail to deter West End revellers, The Guardian, June 30, 2007
  22. ^ AP (2007-06-29). "Security increased at Wimbledon due to terrorist threat". Tennis.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ a b Brian Ross and Richard Esposito: Terror Plot Involves Islamic Extremists; Police Have 'Crystal Clear' Picture of Suspect, ABC News, June 29, 2007
  24. ^ Dominic Casciani: The men who made a plot possible, BBC, 2007-06-15
  25. ^ Tucker Reals (2007-06-29). "Was London Bomb Plot Heralded On Web?". CBS News. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ BBC News: Blazing car crashes into airport, June 30, 2007
  27. ^ UK Home Office: Current Threat Level
  28. ^ Mark Townsend, Jo Revill and Paul Kelbie: Glasgow attacked as terror threat spreads, The Guardian, June 30, 2007
  29. ^ AP: U.S. urges vigilance after U.K. bomb defused, MSNBC, June 29, 2007
  30. ^ U.S. ‘comfortable’ with terror alert status MSNBC
  31. ^ BBC News: UK terror threat now 'critical', July 1, 2007
  32. ^ BBC News: PM defiant over "al-Qaeda threat", July 1, 2007; retrieved July 1 2007
  33. ^ UK terror police find suicide note

See also

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