The Northern Ireland Troubles had been raging since August 1969. The IRA launched an all-out offensive campaign against the Northern Ireland state in February 1971, attacking British soldiers, police officers, Loyalist paramilitaries Unionist politicians, what they saw as economic &amp; establishment targets and drug dealers. In 1972 the IRA started using car bombs on a frequent basis to attack military barracks and economic targets. In March 1973 the IRA attacked in England for the first time when they exploded two car bombs in the middle of London, one just outside the Old Bailey and the other just off Whitehall. One person was killed and 250 others were injured from the two bombings, at that point the highest injury toll from a bombing in Ireland or Britain since The Troubles began in 1969.