Friday, June 29, 2007

London Bomb Scare: A Chronology of Attacks

CNN reports:

A chronology of bombings and attempted bomb attacks in the mainland UK since the 1970s:


June 29, 2007: Police defuse a bomb consisting of 200 liters of fuel, gas cylinders and nails found in an abandoned car in Haymarket, central London.

July 21, 2005: Two weeks after the deadly 7/7 bombings, four men are alleged to have attempted to carry out a second wave of attacks against London's transport network at three London underground stations and aboard a bus. But their alleged rucksack bombs fail to explode.

July 7, 2005: Four suicide bombers detonate themselves aboard three underground trains and a bus in a morning rush hour attack against London's transport network, killing 52 people and injuring around 700 more. Al Qaeda claims responsibility in a video statement. (Gallery)

August 2004: Anti-terrorist police disrupt a plot by Islamic militants to blow up targets including the Ministry of Sound nightclub and the Bluewater shopping center in southeast England using explosives packed into limousines and large vehicles. Seven men are convicted in May 2007 and sentenced to up to 26 years in prison.

March 2001: A car bomb explodes outside the BBC's London headquarters, wounding one man. Police blame the Real IRA, a republican splinter group opposed to the IRA's cease fire.

April 1999: Three people die when a nail bomb explodes in the Admiral Duncan pub in London's gay district -- the third in a spate of series of nail bomb attacks also targeting immigrant areas of the city that left dozens injured. A 23-year-old self-declared "Nazi", David Copeland, is sentenced to six life terms.

June 1996: A massive IRA bomb explodes in a shopping center in central Manchester, injuring more than 200 people.

February 1996: Two people die as IRA terrorists detonate a bomb in London's Docklands area, causing damage estimated at around $170m and ending the group's 17-month cease fire.

April 1993: An IRA truck bomb devastates part of London's financial district, killing one and wounding 44.

March 1993: Two boys aged three and 12 are killed and dozens are injured by two bombs left in litter bins in Warrington, northern England. The IRA admits planting the bombs.

April 1992: A huge IRA car bomb in London's financial district kills three people and wounds 91.

February 1991: IRA terrorists launch a mortar attack at Prime Minister John Major's Downing Street offices. No-one is injured.

September 1989: Eleven people die and 22 are wounded when an IRA bomb explodes at a Royal Marine music school in Deal, southern England.

December 1988: A Pan Am airliner explodes over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 259 aboard and 11 people on the ground. Libyan agent Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, convicted of the attack in 2001, was this week granted the right to mount a fresh appeal. (Full story)

October 1984: Five people die in an IRA bomb attack on a hotel in Brighton, southern England, where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet are staying for the Conservative Party's annual conference.

December 1983: An IRA bomb at London's Harrods department store kills six people.

July 1982: Two IRA bomb attacks on soldiers in London's parks kill 11 people and wound 50.

October-November 1974: A wave of IRA bombs in British pubs in Birmingham and Guildford kill 28 people and wound more than 200.

February 1974: A coach carrying soldiers and families in northern England is bombed by the IRA, killing 12 and wounding 14.

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