Fergie's Tech Blog

7 July 2005: London Bombings

The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of coordinated suicide bombings that struck London's public transport system during the morning rush hour.

At 8:50 a.m. (BST, UTC+1), three bombs exploded within 50 seconds of each other on three London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded on a bus nearly an hour later at 9:47 a.m. in Tavistock Square. The bombings led to a severe, day-long disruption of the city's transport and mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

Fifty-two people were killed in the attacks, including the four bombers, and about 700 injured, of whom about 100 required overnight hospital treatment or more. The incident was the deadliest single act of terrorism in the United Kingdom since Lockerbie (the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which killed 270), and the deadliest bombing in London since the Second World War.

Police investigators identified four men whom they believe to be suicide bombers. As of April 2006 it is believed that the bombers acted alone on a shoestring budget, although al-Qaeda did claim responsibility after the bombings.

posted by Fergie @ 7/06/2006 10:01:00 PM