Shehzad Tanweer (15 December 1982 – 7 July 2005) was one of four
Islamist terrorists
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
who detonated explosives in three trains on the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
and one bus in central
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
during the
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 mo ...
. 56 people were killed and over 700 wounded in the attacks.
Tanweer was named by
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
as the man who detonated a bomb while travelling eastbound on the
Circle Line between
Liverpool Street and
Aldgate
Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate.
The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
, killing both himself and seven of the 56 killed in the attacks.
[
] The other three men were identified as
Hasib Hussain
Hasib Mir Hussain ( ur, حسیب میر حسین; 16 September 1986 – 7 July 2005) was one of four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and one bus in central London during the 7 July 2 ...
,
Germaine Lindsay
Germaine Maurice Lindsay (23 September 1985 – 7 July 2005), also known as Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, was one of the four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and a bus in central London dur ...
, and
Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (Urdu: ; October 20, 1974 – July 7, 2005) was a Pakistani-British terrorist and the oldest of the four Islamist suicide bombers and believed to be the leader responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which bom ...
. All four
homegrown terrorists were killed in the explosions.
Biography
Tanweer was born in
St Luke
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
's maternity hospital,
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
to Parveen Akhtar, whose husband, Mohammed Mumtaz Tanweer, was originally from the
Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
region of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. In 1984, the family moved to the
Beeston area of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, then to Colwyn Road (also in Beeston) when Tanweer was seven. Known as Kaka (little one) by his family, he attended
Wortley High School
Wortley High School was a smaller than average secondary school which served an area of high socio-economic deprivation in the Wortley, Armley, and Bramley areas of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, before it merged with local high school West ...
, where he was described as politically moderate by his friends, who knew him as an outstanding sportsman, excelling at cricket, triple jump, long-distance running, football, and ju-jitsu. He then attended
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
, where he studied
sports science
Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...
before leaving for Pakistan in 2004 to attend a course in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic studies.
At the time of his death, Tanweer is believed to have worked occasionally in his father's
fish and chip
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
shop. His father had previously owned a
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
takeaway
A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
and a
butcher's shop and was respected locally as a prominent businessman.
Tanweer attended several mosques including Bengali and
Stratford Street mosque in Beeston, where two of the other London bombers,
Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (Urdu: ; October 20, 1974 – July 7, 2005) was a Pakistani-British terrorist and the oldest of the four Islamist suicide bombers and believed to be the leader responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which bom ...
and
Hasib Hussain
Hasib Mir Hussain ( ur, حسیب میر حسین; 16 September 1986 – 7 July 2005) was one of four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and one bus in central London during the 7 July 2 ...
, are also believed to have worshipped. He also frequented the
Hamara Youth Access Point, a drop-in centre for teens, alleged to have been used as a recruitment centre by Khan.
Police have confirmed that Khan and Tanweer went on a two-hour rafting trip together on 4 June 2005 at the National Whitewater Centre in
Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
in Wales. Forensic evidence found in rucksacks after the abortive 21 July London attacks has linked those attacks to a second group of young men of Asian appearance who booked a rafting trip there on the same day as Tanweer and Khan
Relatives in Pakistan have said that Tanweer had boasted of wanting to die as a "holy warrior" and that he was enamoured with
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. They noted that incidents such as the
Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005 had "always been in his mind". Tanweer's body was buried at the shrine of a local Islamic saint in Tanweer's ancestral village in
Samundari, Pakistan on 27 October 2005.
In 2011, evidence emerged that Tanweer had a 'secret girlfriend' with whom he had been intimately involved for a period of three years beginning in 2002, until shortly before his death.
Trip to Pakistan
After completing the
hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
earlier in the year, Tanweer travelled to Pakistan for a course in
Islamic studies
Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
at a
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
. The Pakistani government has released footage of Tanweer arriving at
Karachi International Airport
Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017 ...
with
Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (Urdu: ; October 20, 1974 – July 7, 2005) was a Pakistani-British terrorist and the oldest of the four Islamist suicide bombers and believed to be the leader responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which bom ...
, believed to be the ringleader of the London bombers, on Turkish Airlines Flight TK 1056 on 19 November 2004. Tanweer and Khan stayed in Pakistan until 8 February, then flew back to London together. The youngest of the London cell,
Hasib Hussain
Hasib Mir Hussain ( ur, حسیب میر حسین; 16 September 1986 – 7 July 2005) was one of four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and one bus in central London during the 7 July 2 ...
, arrived in Karachi from
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, on 15 July 2004 on
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...
Flight SV 714.
Intelligence sources say the school was located in
Muridke
Muridke ( Punjabi, ur, ), is a city and headquarters of Muridke Tehsil of Sheikhupura District in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 53rd largest city of Pakistan by population. Muridke is situated near the city of Lahore, at an elevation of 205 ...
, Pakistan, 20 miles outside
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, named Jamia Manzoorul Islam and is believed to be connected with
Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a banned militant
Islamist group. The madrasa has denied any connection with Tanweer.
London bombing
A few days before the bombing, Tanweer rented a red
Nissan Micra
The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982.
The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...
from a local car-rental agency, and at around the same time, dyed his hair and eyebrows light brown, according to friends; this was due to the strong bleaching effect given off by the bombs' ingredients .
On 7 July, Tanweer, Khan, Hussain, and Lindsay are believed to have picked up the bombs from a house in the
Burley area of Leeds, hiding them in large rucksacks, then to have driven to
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
in the red Nissan, which he left parked in Luton railway station car park.
In Luton, the men boarded the 07.48 Thameslink train, arriving at King's Cross in London at 08.20 hours, where they went their separate ways and detonated their bombs.
London Underground has confirmed that the three underground bombs exploded within 60 seconds of each other at 8:50 a.m.
Tanweer travelled eastbound on the Circle line from Kings Cross, detonating his bomb o
train number 204between
Liverpool Street and
Aldgate
Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate.
The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
stations, also killing at least seven people. He was identified from body parts found in the carriage he blew up.
After the bombings, police found 16 other bombs in Tanweer's car, several of them so-called "initiators" for the rucksack bombs: plastic bottles turned into nail bombs, containing a detonator attached to an electrical cable. Felt-roofing nails were fixed to the outside of the bottles with their tips pointing outwards, apparently intended to cause maximum soft-tissue damage. The devices would then have had cakes of high explosive packed around them.
Video statement
On 6 July 2006, a video statement by Tanweer was broadcast by
Al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
. In the video, which included remarks by
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death.
Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...
, Tanweer said:
"What have you witnessed now is only the beginning of a string of attacks that will continue and become stronger until you pull your forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq. And until you stop your financial and military support to America and Israel." Tanweer argued that the non-Muslims of Britain deserve such attacks because they voted for a government which "continues to oppress our mothers, children, brothers and sisters in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya"
Tanweer's statement was therefore clearer in making this link with British foreign policy than that of
Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (Urdu: ; October 20, 1974 – July 7, 2005) was a Pakistani-British terrorist and the oldest of the four Islamist suicide bombers and believed to be the leader responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which bom ...
, the presumed lead bomber. The video has also served to solidify speculation that both Khan and Tanweer had contact with
Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death.
Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...
and other senior figures in the
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
organisation while in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.
The video also featured a segment by
Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn ( ar, آدم يحيى غدن, ''Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan''; September 1, 1978 – January 19, 2015) was an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Islamist group al-Qaeda, as wel ...
.
Assets
Tanweer left behind £121,000, but
left no will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
. A spokesman for the probate department at the High Court said: “The net amount figure of £121,000 is the realisable figure which is what is left after taxes and debts on the estate have been deducted."
Tube suicide bomber left mystery £121,000
/ref>
See also
*Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (Urdu: ; October 20, 1974 – July 7, 2005) was a Pakistani-British terrorist and the oldest of the four Islamist suicide bombers and believed to be the leader responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings, in which bom ...
, Edgware Road underground train
*Hasib Hussain
Hasib Mir Hussain ( ur, حسیب میر حسین; 16 September 1986 – 7 July 2005) was one of four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and one bus in central London during the 7 July 2 ...
, No. 30 Transport for London omnibus
*Germaine Lindsay
Germaine Maurice Lindsay (23 September 1985 – 7 July 2005), also known as Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, was one of the four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and a bus in central London dur ...
, Piccadilly Line underground train
*21 July 2005 London bombings
On Thursday, 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupted part of London's public transport system as a follow up attack from the 7 July 2005 London bombings that occurred two weeks earlier. The explosions occur ...
References
"From cricket-lover who enjoyed a laugh to terror suspect"
by Sandra Laville and Ian Cobain, ''The Guardian'', 13 July 2005
by Brian Murphy, ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2005
"Investigators reveal London bomber's links to al-Qaeda"
by Gethin Chamberlain, ''The Scotsman'', 16 July 2005
by James Sturcke and agencies, ''The Guardian'', 27 July 2005
Images obtained by ''ABC News''
by Sandra Laville, ''The Guardian'', 24 September 2005
Further reading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanweer, Shehzad
1982 births
2005 deaths
2005 suicides
English Islamists
Alumni of Leeds Beckett University
English people of Pakistani descent
British people of Punjabi descent
Islamic terrorism in England
Pakistani Islamists
People from Beeston, Leeds
Perpetrators of the July 2005 London bombings
21st-century British criminals
Criminals from Yorkshire
English mass murderers