Netflix has today (July 1) released a chilling new documentary about a string of devastating terror attacks that unfolded in just one day in London.
Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers recalls the events of July 7, 2005, where four bombs went off at different sites across London including on the Tube network and a bus. The attacks killed 52 people and left over 700 more injured.
It revealed the very real threat of suicide bombers in the UK, leaving security services grappling with how to cope and prevent further attacks. Despite heightened security, another attack was attempted just two weeks later on July 21 – but this time the would-be bombers’ explosives failed.
The Netflix documentary’s synopsis reads: “Attack on London: Hunting The 7/7 Bombers is the story of one of the most devastating terror attacks on British soil and three weeks of panic, paranoia and manhunts that changed Britain forever, told by those who lived it.”
During the race to identify the suicide bombers behind the 7/7 attacks, authorities were alerted to an address in Leeds by the brother of a suspect. He had discovered his sibling had been renting a property despite still living in the family home, which made him suspicious.
The flat at Alexandra Grove was put under observation, and concerns were raised that the bushes outside had wilted leaves; a clue that there had been some exposure to toxic chemicals.
Inside the property investigators found everything from filter papers and aluminium pans to hot plates and hydrogen peroxide. They also discovered brown sludge which at the time mystified authorities. It transpired the material was actually a key ingredient in the 7/7 bombs, and the address was in fact the group’s bomb factory.
600 residents from the surrounding area were evacuated as police searched the flat, including 28 flats owned by Leeds Federated housing association, who also owned the bombers’ address.
So what has become of the property today? In the wake of the bombings, property owners Leeds Federated expressed their desire to re-let the flat, which is the last public update regarding the address. As of 2022, Google Maps shows that the property still standing.
All of the 7/7 bombers died in their attacks. They were Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19, and Hasib Mir Hussain, 18.
Meanwhile the four men behind the failed 21/7 bomb plot were all jailed. Muktar Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussain Osman and Ramzi Mohammed were handed a life sentence, while Manfo Asiedu, who threw his bomb in the bin, was jailed for 33 years.
Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers is now streaming on Netflix
