2007 UK terrorist incidents
Encyclopedia
Two major terrorist incidents took place in 2007, in the UK, with significant national and international repercussions.
On 29 June 2007, two unexploded car bomb
s were discovered in London. The first device was found in a car parked near the Tiger Tiger
nightclub
in Haymarket and two large gas canisters and a large number of nails were found in the car. The second device was left in a blue Mercedes-Benz
saloon in nearby Cockspur Street, but was not discovered until after the car had been towed away as it was found to be illegally parked.
On 30 June 2007 a dark green Jeep Cherokee
, registration number
L808 RDT, was driven into the glass doors of the main terminal of Glasgow International Airport
, and burst into flames. A suspected car bomb
failed to detonate, and the driver of the car, Kafeel Ahmed
, on fire after allegedly dousing himself in fuel, together with a second suspect Bilal Abdulla, accused of being the Jeep's passenger, attacked the police. Fire extinguishers were used to put Ahmed out, and he was subsequently tackled by two police officer
s and bystanders. Abdulla was subsequently convicted of conspiracy to murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment
reported that United States law enforcement officials were informed two weeks prior to the Glasgow incident of possible attacks on "airport infrastructure or aircraft" in Glasgow leading to the placement of Federal Air Marshals
on flights into and out of Glasgow.
On 4 July, The Times
reported that an al-Qaeda leader in Iraq boasted, to Canon
Andrew White, before the failed bombing, that his group was planning to attack British targets and that "those who cure you will kill you". White passed this information onto the British government, but without the specific wording, in mid-April 2007.
and the two incidents were linked, by police, to the same two men.
By 3 July eight people, aged between 25 and 27, had been arrested. One of those arrests was made in Australia, the rest in the United Kingdom. All but Kafeel Ahmed, the Glasgow driver, have links with the National Health Service
; six are believed to be doctors or medical students while the wife of one of those arrested formerly worked as a laboratory technician. Kafeel Ahmed applied, unsuccessfully, several times to the Australian Medical Association
for certification in Western Australia.
Those arrested were:
in the UK being raised to 'critical', the highest of five possible levels, meaning a terrorist attack was expected imminently. The raising of the threat threshold effectively put Britain on par with Iran
, Guatemala
, Jordan
, Rwanda
and Uzbekistan
in terms of the potential threat posed. However, on 4 July the threat level was reduced to 'severe' but that still meant that an attack was highly likely.
, home to some of the world's largest banks, police were ordered to step up 'stop and searches', and there were armed police at airports and railway stations. Further, cars have been banned from approaching airport terminals and are instead directed to outlying car parks and passengers bussed in.
Ban Ki-moon
deplored the terrorist attack on Glasgow's airport and the foiled car bomb plot in London.
Also on 1 July, Michael Chertoff
, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, announced that the United States alert levels would remain unchanged at orange for airports (the second highest), and at yellow nationally (the third highest).
operatives in the future and that they are planning to infiltrate the security services.
.
London
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
s were discovered in London. The first device was found in a car parked near the Tiger Tiger
Tiger Tiger (nightclub)
Tiger Tiger is a chain of British nightclubs owned by Novus Leisure. The chain has nine branches, located in Aberdeen, Cardiff, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Portsmouth...
nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Haymarket and two large gas canisters and a large number of nails were found in the car. The second device was left in a blue Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz W123
W123 is the internal chassis-designation Mercedes-Benz used for their executive line of cars, manufactured between 1976 and 1985.The W123 models surpassed their predecessor, the W114 and W115 models, as the most successful Mercedes, selling 2.7 million cars before replacement by the W124 after 1985...
saloon in nearby Cockspur Street, but was not discovered until after the car had been towed away as it was found to be illegally parked.
Glasgow International Airport
Jeep Cherokee (XJ)
The Jeep Cherokee is a unibody compact SUV. It shared the name of the original full-size SJ model, but without a body-on-frame chassis, it set the stage for the modern SUV. Its innovative appearance and sales popularity spawned important imitators as other automakers began to notice that this...
, registration number
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
L808 RDT, was driven into the glass doors of the main terminal of Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
, and burst into flames. A suspected car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
failed to detonate, and the driver of the car, Kafeel Ahmed
Kafeel Ahmed
Kafeel Ahmed was one of two terrorists behind the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, who later died of his injuries sustained in the attacks.-History:...
, on fire after allegedly dousing himself in fuel, together with a second suspect Bilal Abdulla, accused of being the Jeep's passenger, attacked the police. Fire extinguishers were used to put Ahmed out, and he was subsequently tackled by two police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s and bystanders. Abdulla was subsequently convicted of conspiracy to murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment
Alerts
- 30 June - during the evening, Liverpool John Lennon AirportLiverpool John Lennon AirportLiverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
was closed for eight hours, whilst a vehicle was removed and taken away for forensic testing, reopening at about 04:40 on Sunday morning. - 3 July - due to a suspect package being discovered, around midday Heathrow Terminal 4London Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
was closed until the early evening.
Warnings
On 30 June, ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
reported that United States law enforcement officials were informed two weeks prior to the Glasgow incident of possible attacks on "airport infrastructure or aircraft" in Glasgow leading to the placement of Federal Air Marshals
Federal Air Marshal Service
The Federal Air Marshal Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security...
on flights into and out of Glasgow.
On 4 July, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that an al-Qaeda leader in Iraq boasted, to Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Andrew White, before the failed bombing, that his group was planning to attack British targets and that "those who cure you will kill you". White passed this information onto the British government, but without the specific wording, in mid-April 2007.
Investigation
The UK Government blamed the events on al-QaidaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and the two incidents were linked, by police, to the same two men.
By 3 July eight people, aged between 25 and 27, had been arrested. One of those arrests was made in Australia, the rest in the United Kingdom. All but Kafeel Ahmed, the Glasgow driver, have links with the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
; six are believed to be doctors or medical students while the wife of one of those arrested formerly worked as a laboratory technician. Kafeel Ahmed applied, unsuccessfully, several times to the Australian Medical Association
Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association is a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students.The AMA uses a representative structure involving state branches and committees to work with members to promote and protect the interests of doctors.The mechanisms that allow this include:*...
for certification in Western Australia.
Those arrested were:
- Dr. Kafeel AhmedKafeel AhmedKafeel Ahmed was one of two terrorists behind the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, who later died of his injuries sustained in the attacks.-History:...
, aka Khalid Ahmed, born in India, driver of the Glasgow car. Taken to hospital after the attack for treatment of burns over 90% of his body surface, he died on 2 August 2007. - Dr. Bilal AbdullahBilal AbdullahBilal Talal Samad Abdullah was one of two terrorists behind the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, and is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum of 32 years.-History:...
, 27, from IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Passenger in the car, he was arrested immediately at Glasgow International AirportGlasgow International AirportGlasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
. Convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a requirement that he spend at least 32 years in jail. - Dr. Sabeel AhmedSabeel AhmedDr. Sabeel Ahmed is a suspect arrested after the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack. He was married to Sarah Fatima,his distant relative, on 21 July 2010 and now resides in Hafoof, Saudi Arabia and practises medicine there...
, 26, born in India and brother of Kafeel (above), a doctor at Halton Hospital in CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. Sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in London for withholding information he was released on time served (270 days) and deported. - Dr. Mohammed AshaMohammed AshaMohammed Jamil Abdelqader Asha is a Jordanian doctor resident in the United Kingdom, who was a suspect arrested after the attack on Glasgow Airport on 30 June 2007...
, 26, from JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, a brilliant neurologistNeurologistA neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
. Arrested on the M6 motorwayM6 motorwayThe M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
. Acquitted of conspiracy and successfully fought deportation from the UK. - Marwah Dana Asha, 27, from JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Wife of Mohammed Asha and arrested with him on the M6 motorwayM6 motorwayThe M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
. She was later released without charge. - Dr. Mohamed HaneefMohamed HaneefMuhamed Haneef is an Indian doctor who was wrongly accused of aiding terrorists, and left Australia upon cancellation of his visa amid great political controversy....
, 27, from India and working in Australia. Distantly related and with some contact to the Ahmed brothers he was wrongly accused by the Australian police of a link to the bombing and held for 13 days without charge. In 2008, Haneef's lawyers tried and failed to get documents pertaining to the case released in Australia. - An unnamed 28 year old Saudi man, arrested in Houston, Renfrewshire. Reported to be a medical student working at Royal Alexandra Hospital. Released without charge on 15 July.
- An unnamed 25 year old Saudi man, arrested in Houston along with unnamed 28 year old. Also reported to be a medical student at the RAH. Released without charge on 15 July.
Threat level
These attempts resulted, on 30 June, in the threat levelUK Threat Levels
The UK Threat Levels refer to the alert state that has been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. Before then a colour based alert scheme known as BIKINI state was used...
in the UK being raised to 'critical', the highest of five possible levels, meaning a terrorist attack was expected imminently. The raising of the threat threshold effectively put Britain on par with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
in terms of the potential threat posed. However, on 4 July the threat level was reduced to 'severe' but that still meant that an attack was highly likely.
Precautions
In July 2007, the visibility of policing was markedly increased, for example patrols were bolstered at Canary WharfCanary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
, home to some of the world's largest banks, police were ordered to step up 'stop and searches', and there were armed police at airports and railway stations. Further, cars have been banned from approaching airport terminals and are instead directed to outlying car parks and passengers bussed in.
International reaction
On 1 July, U.N. Secretary-GeneralUnited Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
deplored the terrorist attack on Glasgow's airport and the foiled car bomb plot in London.
Also on 1 July, Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney...
, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, announced that the United States alert levels would remain unchanged at orange for airports (the second highest), and at yellow nationally (the third highest).
Infiltration
Concerns have been expressed that al-Qaeda might use CaucasianCaucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
operatives in the future and that they are planning to infiltrate the security services.
Virtual tripwire
A decision has been made to equip major UK airports with a 'virtual tripwire', a technology known as 'Video Analytics', the use of computers to monitor CCTV images that allows the computers to automatically summon the security authorities if pre-determined situations are detected.Increased vetting of medical staff
Increased vetting of medical staff has been put in place as a result of these incidents. Around 90,000 of the doctors in the UK trained overseas, 2,000 of them from IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.