On 7 July 2005, four suicide bombers with links to al-Qaeda launched a coordinated attack on the heart of London’s transport network, targeting the Underground during the height of the morning commute. Fifty-two people were killed and more than 770 injured in the deadliest terrorist atrocity on British soil since the Second World War. The average age of those who died was just 34.
The victims reflected the capital’s diverse identity. Alongside British citizens were passengers from Vietnam, Ghana, Mauritius and Turkey and among the dead were three young Polish women, all of whom had come to the UK seeking new opportunities, some only months before.
Their names were Anna Brandt, Karolina Gluck and Monika Suchocka.
Responsibility was swiftly claimed by al-Qaeda, the Islamist extremist group founded in the 1980s by Osama bin Laden. Known globally for its campaign of terror, the group had already admitted to the Madrid train bombings in 2004, the 2001 attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre, and earlier assaults in Tanzania, Kenya, Istanbul, Jakarta, Casablanca and Riyadh.
Three of the London bombers were born in the UK to Pakistani families; the fourth arrived from Jamaica as a young child. The ringleader, 30-year-old Mohammad Sidique Khan, worked as a teaching assistant helping children from immigrant backgrounds. Unknown to his colleagues, he had also trained in bomb-making at an al-Qaeda camp.
The explosives were homemade, assembled in a rented flat. On the morning of 7 July, the four men travelled together into London before separating to board different Tube lines.
The first three bombs exploded almost simultaneously at 8:49 am.
The deadliest blast occurred on a packed Piccadilly Line train between King’s Cross and Russell Square. The explosion killed 26 people, half of all fatalities that day, and injured 340 others. Over 100 passengers had been crammed into the carriage where the device detonated.
The Circle Line was less crowded. At Aldgate, a bomb exploded in a carriage carrying 43 passengers, killing seven. Minutes later, another Circle Line train was hit near Edgware Road. This time, the attacker was in a carriage with 38 people. Six lost their lives in the blast.
What followed was an outpouring of grief, acts of extraordinary bravery, and a united resolve not to be cowed by terror.
Today, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, paid tribute to the victims.
„Today, we remember the 52 innocent people whose lives were stolen in the 7 July terrorist attacks. We also remember those who were injured, their families and friends, and the heroic emergency service personnel who ran towards danger that day,” he wrote on X.
The 7/7 attacks posed one of the most significant operational challenges in the history of British policing. Officers performed vital tasks, including rescue, forensic recovery, and security operations under perilous and emotionally harrowing conditions.
The Metropolitan Police headquarters, just steps from Tavistock Square, became a makeshift triage centre in the immediate aftermath, as the wounded arrived seeking help.
A recent YouGov survey reveals a growing public concern over terrorism, with more than half of Britons now believing the threat has increased in the past five years.
The number of those who view the risk as having risen “significantly” has more than doubled since mid-2023. Today, 74% of respondents consider a terrorist attack in the UK likely, with Muslim extremists perceived as the most serious threat by three in four Britons.
Photo: X/@BPINewsOrg
Tomasz Modrzejewski
