London explosion: 4 attacks in 9 months show dangerous pattern of 'small' but 'frequent' terror
Scenes of chaos and fear became the talking point of the day as London was hit by one more terror attack, the fourth in 2017 alone, when a crude bomb exploded on a tube train stationed at Parsons Green metro station, on the District Line of the city’s western region.
The attack, which was caused by improvised explosive device put together in a white bucket packed inside a black backpack, has injured at least 22 people, giving many facial burns, while subjecting others to injuries in their hands and legs.
This was the fifth attack in Britain this year alone - four in London, one in Manchester: March 22 (Westminster), May 22 (Ariana Grande concert, Manchester Arena), June 3 (London Bridge) and June 19 (Finsbury Park mosque attack). The series of assaults on the British capital has left it scarred and fearful of its safety and security.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked for calm, while leader of opposition and the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, has tweeted that his “thoughts are with those injured in Parsons Green terrorist incident”.
Eyewitness accounts say that a black bag was left on the train, and inside it a bucket with crude wirings housing an improvised explosive device, ones that are often used in terror attacks in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and even in India, was found.
According to The Guardian, a “manhunt” is on as Scotland Yard and Metropolitan Police are on the lookout for the suspect/s. The case of the “bucket bomb” has become the top priority for London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who’s constantly talking to the injured, the press, as well as the police who are on the suspect trail.
With Mayor Sadiq Khan branding it as a “terror attack”, it’s only a matter of time before the suspect/s is/are apprehended. That said, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has made one more typical tweet, saying attack was by a “loser terrorist”. In fact, Trump used this incident to ask for “larger and tougher” travel ban into the US, and also saying internet should be shut down to prevent terror recruitment.
Trump also dragged in his predecessor Obama and claimed that his administration’s track record at handling terrorism is superior, and said they “have made more progress than Obama administration made in eight years”.
Meanwhile, eyewitness accounts recalled the mayhem on the London tube where the explosion occurred, a busy west London station that was witnessing the morning, office-bound rush. The Parsons Green station has been closed until the investigations are over or until further notice.
In fact, the bucket bore the label of the supermarket Lidl, one that is frequented by the poorer and working classes of Britain. Lidl UK has released a statement saying it’s shocked, says The Guardian, and a “circuit board have been recovered from the scene”, indicating a timed, remote-controlled explosion.
According to the BBC security correspondent, national security threat level could be raised to critical, given the suspect bomber is still on the loose. However, no arrests have been made yet at the time of writing the editorial.
Images of injured persons are doing the rounds on social media, as are short videos captured on smartphones of commuters who witnessed the attack first hand, or were present at Parsons Green metro station when it happened. An image of two women sitting on the pavement, one with her left leg injured and bandaged has been shared widely, capturing the pathos of the victims. Twenty two people are receiving treatment at various NHS hospitals, and no casualty has been reported so far.
What the London attack means
The fourth attack of 2017 alone shows that Western cities are basically sitting ducks to small-scale terror attacks, with IEDs and other crude methods of assaults, such as knife wielding or running aground with a van, as happened in the Finsbury Park mosque incident. Even though national security remains a huge concern with the British authorities, the brazen manner in which terror attacks keep happening now demonstrates the inability of technology and surveillance to keep a real-time track, because the attacks are occurring at smaller but persistent scales, staying under the radar, while keeping up the national temperature of a flustered country dealing with political emergencies such as Brexit.
Not only has London been attacked for the fourth time this year, the Manchester suicide bombing in March this year, when popstar Ariana Grande was supposed to perform, left many dead and instilled a climate of fear in the heart of the United Kingdom.
The tube attack of today brought back the painful memories of July 7, 2005, when suicide bombers set off explosions on three subway cars and a double-decker bus in London, killing 52 people and injuring many others. The bombers were later found to be British born and bred, punching a hole through the narrative that “refugees and migrants were responsible for terrorism on foreign soil”.
London is one of the most immigrant-friendly cities, despite the rhetoric and reality of Brexit making the UK go through tremendous change, both in terms of official narrative and otherwise. In fact, with Sadiq Khan, London has shown its immigrant-friendly political stance, electing its first Muslim mayor, and almost heavily siding with Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn in this year’s post-referendum snap elections.
Mayor Khan has given out a strong statement, saying: “Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life. As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism.”
However, the refrain seems to be receding into getting used to the new normal of frequent, low-scale terror attacks.
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