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Special Branch (Metropolitan Police)
Special Branch was a unit in the Metropolitan Police in London, formed as a counter-terrorism unit in 1883 and merged with another unit to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2006. It maintained contact with the Security Service and had responsibility for, among other things, personal protection of (non-royal) VIPs and performing the role of examining officer at designated ports and airports, as prescribed by the Terrorism Act 2000. History In response to the escalating terror campaign in Britain carried out by the militant Irish Fenians in the 1880s, the Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt established the first counter-terrorism unit ever in 1883, named Special Irish Branch, to combat Irish republican terrorism through infiltration and subversion. It initially formed a section of the Criminal Investigation Department within the London Metropolitan Police. Harcourt envisioned a permanent unit dedicated to the prevention of politically motivated violence through the use o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Irish Branch
Special Branch was a unit in the Metropolitan Police in London, formed as a counter-terrorism unit in 1883 and merged with another unit to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2006. It maintained contact with the MI5, Security Service and had responsibility for, among other things, personal protection of (non-royal) Very Important Person (person), VIPs and performing the role of examining officer at designated ports and airports, as prescribed by the Terrorism Act 2000. History In response to the escalating Fenian dynamite campaign, terror campaign in Britain carried out by the militant Fenians, Irish Fenians in the 1880s, the Home Secretary William Vernon Harcourt (politician), Sir William Harcourt established the first counter-terrorism unit ever in 1883, named Special Irish Branch, to combat Irish republican terrorism through infiltration and subversion. It initially formed a section of the Criminal Investigation Department within the Metropolitan Police, London Metropolita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7 July 2005 London Bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the morning rush hour. Three terrorists separately detonated three homemade bombs in quick succession aboard London Underground trains across the city and, later, a fourth terrorist detonated another bomb on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. The train bombings occurred on the Circle line near and at Edgware Road, and on the Piccadilly line near . Apart from the bombers, 52 UK residents of 18 different nationalities were killed and more than 700 were injured in the attacks, making it the UK's deadliest terrorist incident since the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 near Lockerbie, as well as the country's first Islamist suicide attack. The explosions were caused by improvised explosive devices made from triacetone triperoxide, pack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Reid
Richard Colvin Reid (born 12 August 1973), also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is the perpetrator of the failed shoe bombing attempt on a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid converted to Islam as a young man in prison after years as a petty criminal. Later he became radicalized and went to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained and became a member of al-Qaeda. On 22 December 2001, Reid boarded American Airlines Flight 63 between Paris and Miami, wearing shoes packed with explosives, which he unsuccessfully tried to detonate. Passengers subdued him on the plane, which landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, the closest US airport. He was arrested, charged, and indicted. In 2002, Reid pleaded guilty in US federal court to eight federal criminal counts of terrorism, based on his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in flight. He was sentenced to three life terms plus 110 years in prison without parole and was transferred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 London Nail Bombings
The 1999 London nail bombings were a series of bomb explosions in London, England. Over three successive weekends between 17 and 30 April 1999, homemade nail bombs were detonated respectively in Brixton in South London; at Brick Lane, Spitalfields, in the East End; and at The Admiral Duncan pub in Soho in the West End. Each bomb contained up to 1,500 nails, in holdalls that were left in public spaces. The bombs killed three people and injured 140 people, four of whom lost limbs. On 2 May 1999, the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch charged 22-year-old David Copeland with murder. Copeland, who became known as the "London nail bomber", was a Neo-Nazi militant and a former member of two political groups, the British National Party and then the National Socialist Movement. The bombings were aimed at London's black, Bengali and LGBT communities.Buncombe, Andrew; Judd, Terri; and Bennett, Jason"'Hate-filled' nailbomber is jailed for life" ''The Independent'', 30 June 2000. Cop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 Docklands Bombing
The London Docklands bombing (also known as the South Quay bombing or erroneously referred to as the Canary Wharf bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb in South Quay (which is outside Canary Wharf). The blast killed two people and devastated a wide area, causing an estimated £150million worth of damage. The IRA had sent warnings 90 minutes beforehand, but the area was not fully evacuated. As well as the two people who were killed, more than 100 were injured, some permanently. The attack marked an end to the IRA's seventeen-month ceasefire, and came just over an hour after its declaration to Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The IRA agreed to the ceasefire in August 1994 on the understanding that Sinn Féin would be allowed to take part in peace negotiations, but resumed its campaign with the Docklands bombing when the British government demanded a full IRA disarmament as a precondition for talks. After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heathrow Mortar Attacks
The 1994 Heathrow mortar attacks were a series of homemade mortar bomb attacks targeted at Heathrow Airport carried out by the Provisional IRA. Over a five-day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (9, 11, and 13 March) by the IRA, which fired 12 mortar rounds. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the United Kingdom's economy, and much disruption was caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period due to the IRA attacks. The gravity of the incident was heightened by the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March. Background The Provisional IRA had first attacked Great Britain in March 1973 with car bombs in London which injured over 200 people. Beginning in October 1974 the IRA launched a sustained bombing campaign in England which lasted until December 1975 when the IRA unit responsible for the campaign was caught after a 6-day siege. Thereafter the IRA launched more sporadic but more spectacular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Downing Street Mortar Attack
The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 7 February 1991. The IRA launched three homemade Mortar (weapon), mortar shell (projectile), shells at 10 Downing Street, London, the headquarters of the Government of the United Kingdom, British government, in an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister John Major and his War cabinet#Persian Gulf War, war cabinet, who were meeting to discuss the Gulf War. One of the mortar shells exploded in the back garden of Number 10, yards from the Cabinet Office. Due to the bomb-resistant windows, none of the cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet were hurt, though four other people received minor injuries, including two Metropolitan Police officers. The other two shells overshot Downing Street and landed on a green nearby. Background During the Troubles, as part of its Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign, armed campaign against British rule in Irel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate United Ireland, Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the army of the all-island Irish Republic and as the sole legitimate successor to the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was List of designated terrorist groups, designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected. The Provisional IRA emerged in December 1969, due to a split within Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), the previous incarnation of the IRA and the broader Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nezar Hindawi
The Hindawi affair was a failed attempt to bomb El Al Flight 016, from London to Tel Aviv in April 1986 by Nezar Nawwaf al-Mansur al-Hindawi ( ar, نزار نواف منصور الهنداوي, born 1954), a Jordanian citizen. On the morning of 17 April 1986, at Heathrow Airport in London, Israeli security guards working for El Al airlines found of Semtex explosive in the bag of Anne-Marie Murphy, a five-month pregnant Irishwoman attempting to board a flight to Tel Aviv with 375 other passengers. In addition, a functioning calculator in the bag was found to be a timed triggering device. She claimed to be unaware of the contents, and that she had been given the bag by her fiancé, Nezar Hindawi, a Jordanian. Murphy maintained that Hindawi had sent her on the flight for the purpose of meeting his parents before marriage. A manhunt ensued, resulting in Hindawi's arrest the following day after he surrendered to police. Hindawi was found guilty by the Central Criminal Court of Engla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993 Bishopsgate Bombing
The Bishopsgate bombing occurred on 24 April 1993, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb on Bishopsgate, a major thoroughfare in London's financial district, the City of London. Telephoned warnings were sent about an hour beforehand, but a news photographer was killed in the blast and 44 people were injured, with fatalities minimised due to it occurring on a Saturday. The blast destroyed the nearby St Ethelburga's church and wrecked Liverpool Street station and the NatWest Tower. As a result of the bombing, which happened just over a year after the bombing of the nearby Baltic Exchange, a " ring of steel" was implemented to protect the City, and many firms introduced disaster recovery plans in case of further attacks or similar disasters. £350 million was spent on repairing damage. In 1994 detectives believed they knew the identities of the IRA bombers, but lacked sufficient evidence to arrest them. Background Since the beginni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brighton Hotel Bombing
A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against members of the British government took place on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. A long-delay time bomb was planted in the hotel by Patrick Magee before Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet arrived there for the Conservative Party conference. Although Thatcher narrowly escaped the blast, five people were killed, including the Conservative MP and Deputy Chief Whip Sir Anthony Berry, and a further 31 were injured. Preparation During the Troubles, as part of its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) regularly engaged in violent attacks, including bombings, against British authorities. While these incidents were largely confined to Northern Ireland, the IRA were known to carry out attacks in Britain itself, most recently with the Balcombe Street siege in 1975. By the late 1980s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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