1996 Manchester bombing
| Manchester bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Troubles | |
 Corporation Street after the bombing |
|
| Type | Truck bomb |
| Location |
Corporation Street, Manchester, England 53°29′00″N 2°14′37″W / 53.4833°N 2.2435°WCoordinates: 53°29′00″N 2°14′37″W / 53.4833°N 2.2435°W |
| Target | Manchester city centre |
| Date | 15 June 1996 11:17 (BST) |
| Casualties | 0 killed 212 injured |
The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Saturday 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a powerful 1,500-kilogram (3,300 lb) truck bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. The biggest bomb detonated in Great Britain since World War II, it targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused devastating damage, estimated by insurers at £700 million (£1.2 billion as of 2017).
The IRA had sent telephoned warnings about 90 minutes before the bomb detonated. At least 75,000 people were evacuated from the area, which has been called one of the most 'extraordinary policing operations' in the UK, but the bomb squad were unable to defuse the bomb in time. More than 200 people were injured but there were no fatalities, much to the amazement of many, particularly considering the strength of the bomb. At the time, England was hosting the Euro '96 football championships and a Russia vs Germany match was to take place in Manchester the following day.
Since 1970 the Provisional IRA had been waging a campaign aimed at forcing the British government to withdraw from Northern Ireland. Although Manchester had been the target of IRA bombs before 1996, it had not been subjected to an attack on this scale. In February 1996, the IRA had ended its seventeen-month ceasefire with a large truck bomb attack on London's Canary Wharf financial district, though the 3,300 lbs bomb of Manchester was three times the size of Canary Wharf. The Manchester bombing was condemned by the British and Irish governments and US President Bill Clinton. Five days after the blast, the IRA issued a statement in which it claimed responsibility, but regretted causing injury to civilians.
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