Terrorism in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Terrorism
in the United Kingdom
, according to the Home Office
, poses a significant threat to the state. 1834 people were arrested in the United Kingdom from September 2001 to December 2009 in connection with terrorism, of which 422 were charged with terrorism-related offences and 237 were convicted.
. Two of these were also banned under the Terrorism Act of 2006
for "glorifying terrorism." The other fourteen organisations operate (for the most part) in Northern Ireland
, and were banned under previous legislation.
, Abu Nidal Organisation, Abu Sayyaf
, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
, Al Ghurabaa
, al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
, Al Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam
, Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
, Armed Islamic Group
, Asbat an-Ansar, Babbar Khalsa
, ETA
, Balochistan Liberation Army
, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
, Hamas
, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
, Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (Bangladesh, Huji-B), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
and Jundallah
, Harkat-ul-Ansar
, Hezbollah, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
, International Sikh Youth Federation
, Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
, Islamic Jihad Union
, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
, Jaish-e-Mohammed
, Jemaah Islamiyah
, Khuddam ul-Islam
, Jamaat Ul-Furquan
, Kurdistan Workers Party
, Lashkar-e-Toiba
, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
, People's Mujahedin of Iran
, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front
, Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
, Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, The Saved Sect
, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
and Lashkar i Jhangvi, and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
.
, Cumann na mBan
, Fianna Éireann
, Irish National Liberation Army
, Irish People's Liberation Organisation
, Irish Republican Army, Loyalist Volunteer Force
, Orange Volunteers
, Red Hand Commandos
, Red Hand Defenders
, Saor Éire
, Ulster Defence Association
, Ulster Freedom Fighters, and the Ulster Volunteer Force.
carried on board several airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Approximately 24 suspects
were arrested in and around London on the night of 9 August. Security measures were immediately put in place, which still largely remain, to ban the carriage of liquids of any kind onto planes. The sudden imposition of these measures caused chaos and delayed flights for days.
Eleven suspects were charged with terrorism offences on 21 August, two on 25 August, subsequently discharged on 1 November, and a further three on 30 August.
said on 17 January that the Home Office could not find an Islamic extremist, who had expressed a desire to fight against Coalition Forces in Afghanistan
, living in Manchester under control order.
Counter-terrorism police from West Yorkshire
and the London Metropolitan Police searched three homes in Manchester
and more homes in Halifax
at 6am on 23 January 2007, in two unrelated raids, arresting five men on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, violations of Terrorism Act 2000
. They will be taken kept in the Paddington Green police station until they are brought to trial. The Manchester police department said they are still investigating the men. The Home Office threat level is "Critical."
On June 30, 2007, a car rammed into a terminal at the Glasgow International Airport
. No casualties, aside from those of the driver, resulted. (See the article, 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
.)
, County Tyrone
, killing him. It was the first terrorism-related death on UK soil since the Glasgow Airport attack
on 30 June 2007.
, a cleric with suspected ties to Al Qaeda, for his involvement in a 1998-kidnapping and hostage incident in Yemen
. British police arrested Al-Masri in London on 28 May 2004.
analysis of "several hundred individuals known to be involved in, or closely associated with, violent extremist activity" concludes that British terrorists "are a diverse collection of individuals, fitting no single demographic profile
, nor do they all follow a typical pathway to violent extremism".
Around half were born in the UK, the majority are British nationals and the remainder, with a few exceptions, are here legally. Most UK terrorists are male, but women are often aware of their husbands', brothers' or sons' activities. While the majority are in their early to mid-20s when they become radicalised, a small but not insignificant minority first become involved in violent extremism at over the age of 30. Those over 30 are just as likely to have a wife and children as to be loners with no ties. MI5 says this challenges the idea that terrorists are young Muslim men driven by sexual frustration and lured to "martyrdom" by the promise of beautiful virgins waiting for them in paradise.
Those involved in British terrorism have educational achievement ranging from total lack of qualifications to degree-level education. However, they are almost all employed in low-grade jobs.
Far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practise their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices. Very few have been brought up in strongly religious households, and there is a higher than average proportion of converts. Some are involved in drug-taking, drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. The report claims a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation, while the influence of clerics in radicalising British terrorists has reduced in recent years.
newspaper obtained a leaked memo from the British government, originally dating 17 January, in late January 2007 detailing a proposed plan to place X-ray cameras in lampposts to see through clothes and identify terrorists. The memo says Home Office officials believe "detection of weapons and explosives will become easier... The social acceptability of routine intrusive detection measures and the operational response required in the event of an alarm are likely to be limiting factors." The Home Office did not comment on the memo.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, according to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, poses a significant threat to the state. 1834 people were arrested in the United Kingdom from September 2001 to December 2009 in connection with terrorism, of which 422 were charged with terrorism-related offences and 237 were convicted.
Banned organisations
The British government has designated 58 organisations as terrorist and banned them. 44 of these organisations were banned under the Terrorism Act of 2000Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
. Two of these were also banned under the Terrorism Act of 2006
Terrorism Act 2006
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005...
for "glorifying terrorism." The other fourteen organisations operate (for the most part) in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and were banned under previous legislation.
International organisations
International organisations the government has designated as terrorist and banned are the Revolutionary Organization 17 NovemberRevolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
, Abu Nidal Organisation, Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments...
, Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa is a Muslim organization which, along with the The Saviour Sect, is widely believed to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun after it disbanded in 2004 by order of Omar Bakri Muhammad. Other members include Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair....
, al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya or AIAI is a defunct Islamist militant group in Somalia that was added to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations on September 24, 2001...
, Al Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
, Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
Ansar al-Sunnah or Jamaat Ansar al-Sunnah or Group of the Followers of Sunnah , is a terrorist salafi group in Iraq that is fighting the U.S.-led occupation and the elected government led by Nouri al-Maliki. The group is based in northern and central Iraq, and includes mostly Iraqi fighters...
, Armed Islamic Group
Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group is an Islamist organisation that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state...
, Asbat an-Ansar, Babbar Khalsa
Babbar Khalsa
Babbar Khalsa , also known as Babbar Khalsa International , is a Sikh armed organisation based in India. Many consider the Babbar Khalsa a Resistance movement, and it played a prominent role in the Punjab insurgency. Babbar Khalsa International was created in 1978, after a number of Sikhs were...
, ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, Balochistan Liberation Army
Balochistan Liberation Army
The Balochistan Liberation Army is a terrorist group based in Balochistan, a mountainous region within southern Iran and Pakistan. The organization is a participant in the Balochistan conflict and strives to establish an independent state of Balochistan, free of Pakistani and Iranian rule...
, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group or Moroccan Islamic Fighting Group is a Sunni Islamist terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It is sometimes referred to as GICM after its French name Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain...
, Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone...
, Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (Bangladesh, Huji-B), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen- al-Islami is a Pakistan-based Islamic militant group operating primarily in Kashmir. In 1997, the United States designated Harakat al-Ansar a foreign terrorist organization for links to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, and in response the organization changed its name to...
and Jundallah
Jundallah
Jundallah, or Jondollah , also known as People's Resistance Movement of Iran , is an organization based in Balochistan that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was founded by Abdolmalek Rigi who was captured and executed in Iran in 2010...
, Harkat-ul-Ansar
Harkat-ul-Ansar
Harkat ul-Ansar was an Islamic militant organization founded by Abdelkader Mokhtari in 1993. It was the result of a merger between the groups Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami . Many of its operations were conducted in Jammu and Kashmir.Soon after its founding, several members of...
, Hezbollah, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
The Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin is an Afghan islamist political party.The original Hezb-e-Islami was founded in 1977 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who is now the head of HIG. The other faction is headed by Mulavi Younas Khalis who split with Hekmatyar and established his own Hezbi Islami in 1979...
, International Sikh Youth Federation
International Sikh Youth Federation
The International Sikh Youth Federation is banned under British, Indian, Canadian and American terrorism legislations.- Bannings :In February 2001, the United Kingdom banned twenty-one groups, including the ISYF, under a new terrorism law....
, Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army is an Islamist militant organization based in southern Yemen. The group was responsible for kidnapping of 16 foreign tourists in the December 1998 in Abyan. Yemeni government forces attacked place where the hostages were being held resulting in four of the hostages...
, Islamic Jihad Union
Islamic Jihad Union
The Islamic Jihad Union , also known as Islamic Jihad Group , is a terrorist organization which splintered from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan , and has conducted attacks in Uzbekistan and attempted attacks in Germany....
, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
, Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
, Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
, Khuddam ul-Islam
Khuddam ul-Islam
Khuddam ul-Islam is an Islamist militant group. It is considered to be a splinter group of the extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed . They have been banned from the United Kingdom and said to be politically aligned with Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman's faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam...
, Jamaat Ul-Furquan
Jamaat Ul-Furquan
Jamaat Ul-Furquan is an Islamist splinter group of Khuddam ul-Islam banned under United Kingdom terrorism legislation....
, Kurdistan Workers Party
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
, Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
, People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, is a Marxist-Leninist party in Turkey.-History:...
, Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons , also known as the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks or the Kurdish Vengeance Brigade, is a militant group that has committed attacks throughout Turkey, operating in southern Turkey and northern Iraq with a goal of securing Kurdish secession from Turkey...
, Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, The Saved Sect
The Saved Sect
The Saved Sect , formerly and more generally known as The Saviour Sect, is a Muslim organization that operated in the United Kingdom from its formation in November 2005 until the British government proscribed it on 17 July 2006...
, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan is a militant Sunni Deobandi organization, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi its stated goal is to primarily to deter major Shia influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian...
and Lashkar i Jhangvi, and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
Libyan Islamic Movement formerly known as The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group also known as Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya is a group active in Libya which played a key role in deposing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime, allying itself with the National Transitional Council.However...
.
Irish organisations
Irish organisations the British government has banned are the Continuity Irish Republican ArmyContinuity Irish Republican Army
The Continuity Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Continuity IRA and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann, is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Provisional IRA in 1986 but did not become active until...
, Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers...
, Fianna Éireann
Fianna Éireann
The name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...
, Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
, Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Irish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
, Irish Republican Army, Loyalist Volunteer Force
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...
, Orange Volunteers
Orange Volunteers
The Orange Volunteers or Orange Volunteer Force is an Ulster loyalist and Protestant fundamentalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland.-Origins:...
, Red Hand Commandos
Red Hand Commandos
The Red Hand Commando is a small loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force...
, Red Hand Defenders
Red Hand Defenders
The Red Hand Defenders is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Its members were drawn mostly from the Ulster Defence Association and Loyalist Volunteer Force...
, Saor Éire
Saor Éire
Saor Éire was a left-wing political organisation established in September 1931 by communist-leaning members of the Irish Republican Army, with the backing of the IRA leadership. Notable among its founders was Peadar O'Donnell, former editor of An Phoblacht and a leading left-wing figure in the...
, Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
, Ulster Freedom Fighters, and the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Terrorist plots and attacks
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
In August 2006 eleven individuals tried to detonate liquid explosivesExplosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure...
carried on board several airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Approximately 24 suspects
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot suspects
According to British and American authorities, the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board several airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States....
were arrested in and around London on the night of 9 August. Security measures were immediately put in place, which still largely remain, to ban the carriage of liquids of any kind onto planes. The sudden imposition of these measures caused chaos and delayed flights for days.
Eleven suspects were charged with terrorism offences on 21 August, two on 25 August, subsequently discharged on 1 November, and a further three on 30 August.
January 2007
Home Secretary John ReidJohn Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
said on 17 January that the Home Office could not find an Islamic extremist, who had expressed a desire to fight against Coalition Forces in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, living in Manchester under control order.
Counter-terrorism police from West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
and the London Metropolitan Police searched three homes in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and more homes in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
at 6am on 23 January 2007, in two unrelated raids, arresting five men on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, violations of Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
. They will be taken kept in the Paddington Green police station until they are brought to trial. The Manchester police department said they are still investigating the men. The Home Office threat level is "Critical."
June and July, 2007
A potentially major terrorism attack was foiled in Haymarket, London, on June 29, 2007. Medical rescue personnel identified a suspicious automobile. Police authorities defused the car bomb. (See the article, 2007 Haymarket bomb plot.)On June 30, 2007, a car rammed into a terminal at the Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
. No casualties, aside from those of the driver, resulted. (See the article, 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
.)
Omagh attack, April 2011
On 2 April 2011, a car bomb exploded under the car of a newly recruited Catholic police officer in OmaghOmagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, killing him. It was the first terrorism-related death on UK soil since the Glasgow Airport attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
on 30 June 2007.
Individuals
The United States government indicted Abu Hamza al-MasriAbu Hamza al-Masri
Abu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni activist known for his preaching of a violent and politicised interpretation of Islam, also known as militant Islamism or jihadism...
, a cleric with suspected ties to Al Qaeda, for his involvement in a 1998-kidnapping and hostage incident in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. British police arrested Al-Masri in London on 28 May 2004.
Profile of a British terrorist
A "restricted" 12 June 2008 MI5MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
analysis of "several hundred individuals known to be involved in, or closely associated with, violent extremist activity" concludes that British terrorists "are a diverse collection of individuals, fitting no single demographic profile
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
, nor do they all follow a typical pathway to violent extremism".
Around half were born in the UK, the majority are British nationals and the remainder, with a few exceptions, are here legally. Most UK terrorists are male, but women are often aware of their husbands', brothers' or sons' activities. While the majority are in their early to mid-20s when they become radicalised, a small but not insignificant minority first become involved in violent extremism at over the age of 30. Those over 30 are just as likely to have a wife and children as to be loners with no ties. MI5 says this challenges the idea that terrorists are young Muslim men driven by sexual frustration and lured to "martyrdom" by the promise of beautiful virgins waiting for them in paradise.
Those involved in British terrorism have educational achievement ranging from total lack of qualifications to degree-level education. However, they are almost all employed in low-grade jobs.
Far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practise their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices. Very few have been brought up in strongly religious households, and there is a higher than average proportion of converts. Some are involved in drug-taking, drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. The report claims a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation, while the influence of clerics in radicalising British terrorists has reduced in recent years.
Counter-terrorism
The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper obtained a leaked memo from the British government, originally dating 17 January, in late January 2007 detailing a proposed plan to place X-ray cameras in lampposts to see through clothes and identify terrorists. The memo says Home Office officials believe "detection of weapons and explosives will become easier... The social acceptability of routine intrusive detection measures and the operational response required in the event of an alarm are likely to be limiting factors." The Home Office did not comment on the memo.
See also
- Prevention of Terrorism Act (Northern Ireland)Prevention of Terrorism Act (Northern Ireland)The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1989 that conferred emergency powers upon police forces where they suspected terrorism....
- Crime in the United KingdomCrime in the United KingdomCrime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on differences within the judicial system of each nation: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.Crime...
- The TroublesThe TroublesThe Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
- Islamism in London
External links
- Efforts to curb politicised Islam backfiring - study
- http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&toggle=1&cop=mss&p=terrorism&xargs=12KPjg1iJe1YS9h7PbBsCNPqT1tC9u2K2E0t5te4R6a-9Itis4Fu0bMeO9wpsjWO5i7X-BnueXiKcDLvXh-cvIEG6-eQ3UW_b8qI3Rz41Ifv7yHcmCt7U3vtpVqb9IKX0AID_vIse96ujtEOY.&pstart=1&b=21&fr=yfp-t-501&xargs=12KPjg145e1YS9h7PbB9SbOLT%5FuS9V2K2E095te4R6a%2D9IsDA4F%2D0bMeO9wpsjWO5i7AvTvKPH6aUTL4f70cqMDle%2DB1vSKb2iniXyzCMLBNrpCIID04I0y9vv17dIJi82hlcjSpDvLs75I6L%5FKTgSq8gasS8t311P2MuE9%2DRvUunN2DJIv3zmIu8F%2DKI%2DEf0mHpwSMoLpSOCfhiSQMs0ekMl25OuFDhA%2E&pstart=4&b=31DEAD LINK: Pak-UK talks for joint framework on anti-terrorism Open this result in new window]
- MI5 watch 2,000 terror suspects BBC News, May 4, 2007.