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There have been more than half a dozen terrorist incidents in Britain since 2005

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Monday’s attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks and threats that have struck the United Kingdom since 2005.

Though Britain was the scene of a large number of terrorist incidents inspired by the conflict in Northern Ireland in earlier years, most of the recent attacks have been attributed to Islamic extremists.

They have resulted in multiple deaths and dozens of injuries.

On two other occasions, law enforcement officials averted what might have been a serious attack.


March 22, 2017

Westminster Bridge attack

Three people were killed and dozens injured when a car driven by 52-year-old Khalid Masood mounted the curb on Westminster Bridge near the British Parliament and plowed into pedestrians. A fourth victim, police officer Keith Palmer, was fatally stabbed by Masood just inside the gates leading to Parliament.

Masood was shot dead by police.

Conservative Member of Parliament Tobias Ellwood, center, helps emergency services attend to an injured person outside the Houses of Parliament in London. (Stefan Rousseau / Associated Press)
(Stefan Rousseau / AP)

Oct. 20, 2016

Foiled underground bomb attack

A backpack containing a flask, powder, ball bearings, a clock timing device, a battery and an initiator was discovered on an underground train, prompting the evacuation of a subway station. Authorities carried out a controlled explosion and there were no reports of injuries. Damon Smith, a teenager who had reportedly converted to Islam, was later charged with the crime.

An undated handout picture released by the British Metropolitan Police Service in London on May 3, 2017, shows Damon Smith pointing a ball bearing gun. (AFP / Getty Images)
(HANDOUT / AFP/Getty Images)

Dec. 5, 2015

Knife-wielding assailant

Muhiddin Mire, 30, attacked three people with a knife at a London underground station in an incident police described as terrorism. One of the victims suffered serious knife wounds. Mire, who was born in Somalia, reportedly shouted, "This is for Syria.” He was arrested after being Tasered by police.

May 22, 2013

Solider hacked to death

Off-duty British soldier Lee Rigby was hacked to death on the street as he was walking outside his barracks in the Woolwich neighborhood of southeast London. The assailants, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale struck Rigby with a car before attacking him with knives and a cleaver. The suspects, both British citizens of Nigerian descent, were shot by police and arrested. They were later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Drummer Lee Rigby was killed in an attack on a London street on May 22, 2013. (AFP / Getty Images)
(HO / AFP/Getty Images)

June 29, 2007

Twin car bombings thwarted

Two car bombs were discovered near the Haymarket neighborhood of London and were disabled before they could explode. In both cases, the explosive devices were planted in parked cars.

British police defused a bomb found in a parked car in central London. (Paul Stewart / AFP/Getty Images)
(Paul Stewart / AFP/Getty Images)

July 21, 2005

Failed transit attack

Three London underground stations and a bus were targeted with explosives, but only the detonators went off, causing no injuries. Four assailants, who were all born in East Africa, were arrested, tried and sentenced to life in prison.

Police and Emergency services are seen outside the Oval Underground Station, one of three stations targeted with bombs on July 21, 2005, in London. (Bruno Vincent / Getty Images)
(Bruno Vincent / Getty Images)

July 7, 2005

Coordinated suicide bombings

Coordinated suicide bomb attacks on three underground trains and a double-decker bus in central London killed 52 people and injured more than 700. The perpetrators were four British-born Islamist extremists.

Several bombings rocked London's public transportation systems, damaging buses and subways, killing dozens and injuring hundreds on July 7, 2005, in London. (Toby Mason / Polaris)
(Toby Mason / Polaris)
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