UK set to mark 2005 terror attacks
Print Edition
Britain will tomorrow pay silent tribute to the 52 victims of the 2005 London bombings, with thoughts inevitably also turning to the 30 Britons killed in Tunisia last month in a horrific reminder of the Islamist attack.
In the 10 years between the two events, Britain has beefed up its anti-terror legislation and stepped up its emergency preparedness, but the number of fighters traveling to join the jihadists has multiplied.
The four suicide bombers of July 7, 2005, who killed 52 people, said they were inspired by al-Qaida, while the Tunisian gun massacre of June 26 in which 38 tourists died was claimed by the Islamic State group.
A wreath will be laid in front of a memorial in London’s Hyde Park to the victims of the attacks on the city’s transport system ahead of a religious service in St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary, with families of the victims and survivors expected to take part.
The country will observe a minute’s silence at 10:30am after having made the same gesture on Friday in honor of its latest victims of terror.
The July 7 ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan, a father-of-one whose parents were immigrants from Pakistan, was angry at British foreign policy in Iraq and said he wanted to avenge the deaths of Muslims.
John Tulloch, a British-Australian man who was on the train targeted by Khan, remembers the moments after the blast: “The darkness, smoke, glass everywhere ... (there were) horrifically wounded people right next to me,” he said.
July 7 “changed the whole landscape for UK counter-terrorism strategy,” said Hugo Rosemont at the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s College London.
The emphasis has been on countering radicalization but also improving the effectiveness of the emergency services, which were criticized in 2005.
“We’ve learned a lot,” said Jason Killens, director of operations at the London Ambulance Service.
But the threat has evolved and jihadist attacks like the one in Tunisia risk inspiring copycat action, said Rosemont.
The UK government passed a bill earlier this year that includes measures to disrupt travel plans of British jihadists.
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