7-7 London Attacks

1. July 7 2005 London Bombings Hina Zaidi

2. Introduction • A series of coordinated suicide attacks on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour, killed 52 people and injured more than 700. • Chaos erupted across the capital, echoing the horrific terrorist attacks faced by New York four years before, on 11 September 2001. • The worst bombing in London since WWII, it brought the city’s public transport network to a standstill. • Initially, Metro net said a power surge has caused an explosion in the London tube station, later European Union Commissioner for Justice and Security Affairs Franco told reporters the blasts in London are terrorist attacks.

3. Who? • The bombers were later confirmed to be Muslim extremists. • 30 year old Mohammad Sidique Khan, • 24 year old ShehzadTanweer, • 19 year old Germaine Lindsay • and HasibHussain the bus bomber was only 18 years old. • Following the events of 7/7 all four bombers were found to be British citizens said to be leading normal every day lives, including Khan who was a respected teaching assistant in his native Beeston, Leeds.

4. Where?

5. Why? • British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared in a public statement the "barbaric" London blasts are terrorist attacks and were designed to coincide with the G8 summit in Scotland to disrupt it. • To further promote the myths of "Arab/Muslim terrorists" and the "War on Terror". • To divert attention from Blair's lied leading to British participation in the war on Iraq. • The 7/7 bombers' action came the day after the announcement that London had been awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

7. Motivations • Al Jazeera aired a videotape of Mohammed Sidique Khan calling Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "today's heroes." • Two of the bombers made videotapes describing their reasons for becoming what they called "soldiers". In a videotape broadcast by Al Jazeera on 1 September 2005, Mohammad Sidique Khan, described his motivation. • The focus of the Khan’s video is on perceived injustices carried out by the West against Muslims. • On 6 July 2006, a videotaped statement by ShehzadTanweer was broadcast by Al-Jazeera. • Tanweer argued that the non-Muslims of Britain deserve such attacks because they voted for a government which "continues to oppress our mothers, children, brothers and sisters in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya."

8. Conspiracy theory • The four bombers were not the culprits, not bombers, and merely innocent civilians along with all the other victims. The real killers, according to the theory, were members of the UK government’s security, including MI5, and that PM Tony Blair, and even the Queen, knew all about it.

9. CCTV Picture of four bombers captured at Luton station, was faked.

10. Impacts • The officer in charge of policing the G8 summit said many of the 1,500 Metropolitan Police officers in Scotland would be urgently redeployed to London. • Celebrations to mark the homecoming from Singapore of the successful London Olympic bid team were cancelled. • 54 state schools were closed in Westminster. • Mobile phone services across London were jammed. • Thousands of commuters faced difficult journeys as major routes of London were blocked. • Muslim communities across the UK came under greater criticism from politicians, the media, and the security services. • A much greater impact on Muslim/non-Muslim relations in this country than the 11 September attacks in the United States. • Acute psychological impact on the population. 

11. Economic Impact • The British pound decreased 0.89 cents against the U.S. dollar. • The FTSE 100 Index fell by about 200 points during the two hours after the first attack. This was its greatest decrease since the invasion of Iraq, and it triggered the London Stock Exchange's 'Special Measures', restricting panic selling and aimed at ensuring market stability. • U.S. market indexes increased slightly, partly because the dollar index increased sharply against the pound and the euro. • Bombs also cost UK tourism; £300 million.

12. Impact on the world • Media created hype. • Hostility and distrust against Islam's around the world. • Inflicts fear on neighboring countries and subsequently the rest of the world. • Threatens national and international security making people more resilient.

13. Role of UN • To consistently, clearly and strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

14. Measures taken by the UK government against Transnational Terrorism • Home Secretary announced a fast-tracked anti-terror bill. This legislation criminalizes most act directly and indirectly connected to terrorism. (July, 2005) • The bill constantly being reviewed and a new Counter-terrorism Bill 2008 formed. • The laws of the bills have became harsher and more precise. For e.g. • 1. the clarification of the power to "stop and search", to check for any suspicious objects or potential weapons • 2.also increment of pre-charge detention from 28 days to 42 days to ensure precision of investigation

15. Measures taken by the UK government to cope • Underground revealed in November its plans to increase the number of CCTV cameras, currently at 6,000, to double the present number by 2010. • Trials of random airport-format security checks, and subways will carry out check on random passengers through body scanners and passing their bags through x-rays.

16. Measures taken by the UK government • PM Tony Blair suggested major changings in Counter-terrorism Policy. • Increasing policing has also formed an intuitive part of the response to the current bombing campaign: manpower in the police forces stood at 139,728, a record level in Britain and an increase of 12,5000 from 1997. • Increased £90 million, to fund upgrades in Birmingham and Manchester as well as increased surveillance and gathering of intelligence.