2007 London car bombs

2007 London Car Bombs
The Mercedes-Benz on Haymarket covered by a tent
Location	London, United Kingdom
Date	29 June 2007
Target	Haymarket, Park Lane
Attack type	Attempted car bombing
Deaths	0
Non-fatal injuries	0
Perpetrators	Bilal Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed

On 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city.

The first car was reported to the police by an ambulance crew attending a minor incident at the nightclub when they noticed suspicious fumes. About an hour later, the car containing the second device was ticketed for illegal parking, and an hour after that, transported to the car pound at Park Lane, where staff noticed a strong smell of petrol and reported the vehicle to police when they heard about the first device. Both vehicles were made by Mercedes-Benz, the first a light green metallic Mercedes-Benz W124 sedan, registration number G824 VFK, and the second was L708 VBB, which was another Mercedes-Benz W124 but in blue. The cars and their devices were recovered intact for forensic examination and both were found to contain petrol cans, gas canisters and a quantity of nails, with a mobile phone-based trigger.

The event coincided with the appointment of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister two days earlier, but Downing Street dismissed suggestions of a connection. A close link was quickly established to the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack the following day. Bilal Abdullah, arrested following the Glasgow attack, was later found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in relation to both incidents and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 32 years in prison.