(National-UAE) The 20th anniversary of the July 7, 2005, attacks in London, on Monday, throws a spotlight on how the UK’s counter-terrorism approach changed, and how its focus on Islamist groups has deepened social divisions.
The bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks by British Islamists on commuters using London’s public transport during the morning rush hour.
Two decades on, the 52 killed and hundreds wounded are being remembered.
Thousands are to gather at a dedicated memorial in Hyde Park on Monday and at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark an attack that brought a new type of terror to the UK.
The attacks sent shockwaves across the country and changed the national security system for thwarting home-grown terrorism feeding off foreign conflicts. Two of the bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, had travelled to Pakistan to train with Al Qaeda before their attack.
