World View

Read on ...................................

The London Blasts

Anshu Dwivedi

On 7th July 2005, four bombs

blasts occurred in central
London. Within a span of 50
seconds, bombs exploded on
three tube trains just outside
Liverpool Street, Edgware
Road and Kings Cross
stations at 0850 BST just as
the morning rush hour drew
to a close. After around one
hour, another explosion
ripped off a packed number
30 double-decker bus in
Tavistock Square.

haos and panic prevailed

as transport networks
were thrown out of gear
and mobile phone
services across London were jammed as
people tried to contact relatives and
friends. PM Tony Blair, who had to
immediately return to London from the
G8 summit in Gleneagles, condemned
the terrorists and paid tribute to the
stoicism and resilience of the people of
London.
No warning had been given before the
blasts and no group has owned up the
responsibilities for the blast although
authorities suspect an Al-Qaeda
involvement. Subsequent investigations
have revealed the involvement of four
young Britons who had led ordinary lives.
Hasib Mir Hussain, 18, the Tavistock
Square bomber, had lived all his life in
the Holbeck area of Leeds and had
visited Pakistan once.
Shehzad Tanweer, 22, the Aldgate
bomber, was born in Bradford but lived
most of his life in the Beeston area of
Leeds. He is reported to have been at
an Islamic study camp in Pakistan earlier
this year.
Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, the
Edgware Road bomber has been a
teaching assistant by profession. He had
lived in the Beeston area of Leeds until

74 Advanc'edge MBA September 2005

recently after which he had moved to

Dewsbury.
Germaine Lindsay, 19, the Russell
Square bomber, is a Jamaican-born
British resident who had converted to
Islam.
All the four bombers had died while
carrying out the suicidal explosion.
There was yet another attempt at
bombing on the 21st of July. However,
none of the devices exploded.
Sadly, on the 22 nd, in a case of
mistaken identity, the police shot down
a man of Asian appearance. The 27year-old Brazilian who worked as an
electrician in London was shot at eight
times - seven times in the head and once
in the shoulder.
On the 4th of August, in a videotape
broadcast on the Al-Jazeera television,
Osama Bin Ladens lieutenant, Ayman
al-Zawahri, has warned that London
would face more attacks because of
Prime Minister Tony Blairs foreign
policy decisions.