The London bombings refer to a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005. It was termed the 9-11 of Great Britain as terrorists struck one of the busiest cities in Europe.
On the anniversary of the bombings, the facts and figures of the case are still heart-rending.
What Happened
Four explosions rocked London during busy morning commutes. Three explosions occurred on Underground (subway) trains as they transported citizens to work. A fourth explosion tore off the top of one of the famed double-decker buses.
The BBC reports the first explosion happened around 8:49 local time on the Metropolitan Line. About 25 minutes later, an explosion rocked the Liverpool Station. At 9:33 a.m., officials halted all Underground trains as a safety precaution. At that moment, another explosion was reported in another part of London.
By 10:14, all explosions had gone off. A fourth bomber exploded a device on a bus, and all public transport was halted by 11:15 a.m. It was a coordinated attack that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.
Victims
In all, 52 people were killed in the London bombings. More than 770 were wounded. Four suicide bombers, all Islamist terrorist with links to al-Qaeda, were implicated in the attacks. Victims and their families scrambled to heal and place blame for what happened.
The official word of the British government was that nothing could have been done to stop the bombings. Two of the men were on watch lists even though they were legal British citizens. It was the worst attack of homegrown terrorism of its kind in Britain. Though not the worst act of terrorism on British soil, it was equally as shocking as the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.
Inquiry
British officials launched a massive inquiry as to how the attacks could have been prevented. Despite tough anti-terror laws already on the books, officials were not able to take any of the suspects in for questioning. The Heritage Foundation states three of the men received terrorist training in Pakistan while the fourth was trained in Afghanistan.
Some high court judges have thrown out laws that are too harsh on immigrants, even as British intelligence works to make the country more secure from terrorists. Americans can absolutely relate to Britons and their struggle against Islamic terrorists. While 99.9 percent of Muslims are peaceful, it is the very small minority with which Western governments struggle.
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