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7/7 London attacks - the facts
06/07/2007 18:47 - (SA)
London - On the morning of July 7 2005, London was rocked by synchronised suicide attacks on the public transport system which killed 56 people, including the four bombers.
Here are the main facts about the blasts and the investigation into them:
The attacks: In the morning rush hour of July 7, four suicide bombers exploded devices carried in rucksacks on three London Underground trains and a bus.
In the worst attack, near Russell Square station in central London, 26 people died. Seven died at Aldgate station to the east, six at Edgware Road to the west and 13 were killed in a blast on a Number 30 bus in Tavistock Square in the centre.
The total death toll, including the four bombers, was 56, while some 700 people were injured.
The attackers: The four were all British nationals.
Edgware Road: Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, the apparent ringleader, was a teaching assistant of Pakistani origin and lived just outside Leeds, northern England. He made repeated trips to Pakistan where he is thought to have converted to an extreme form of Islam.
Number 30 bus: Hasib Mir Hussain, 18, of Pakistani origin from Leeds, became a devout Muslim just before his death. Wrote "Al-Qaeda No Limits" on a schoolbook and openly supported the terror network while still a student.
Aldgate: Shehzad Tanweer, 22, a keen sportsman and former university student, also of Pakistani origin and from Leeds. From mid 2002, religion had become the main focus of his life.
Russell Square: Jermaine Lindsay, aged 19. Married with a young child, he was born in Jamaica and had converted to Islam.
The claims: The attacks were apparently motivated by a grievance about perceived injustices by Western countries against Muslims.
One video emerged showing Tanweer, before his death, saying that the blasts were "only the beginning" and that atrocities would continue until Britain pulled its forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
A similar film featuring Khan also appeared.
Tanweer's video was accompanied by a message from senior al-Qaeda figure Ayman al-Zawahiri, though the extent of any link the bombers may have had with the network is unclear.
The investigation: The authorities took over 12 500 statements, seized 142 computers and studied more than 6 000 hours of closed circuit television footage.
On May 9 2007, four people were arrested over the attacks, including Hasina Patel, 29, Khan's widow.
Her brother Arshad Patel and two other men, named by sources as Khalid Khaliq and Imran Motala, were also detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
On May 15, three of the four were released without charge, although police did not confirm which one remained in custody.
July 21 attacks: Exactly two weeks after the July 7 bombings, London was gripped by a series of failed attacks, again on the London transport network, initially triggering suspicion of a planned repeat or copycat attack.
However, they turned out to be separate. Six men went on trial in January over the attacks - involving home-made devices consisting of hydrogen peroxide and chapati flour. The jury retired last month to consider its verdict.
- AFP
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