2016 Leeds bombings

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 On the morning of 23 March 2016, six co-ordinated suicide bombings occurred in Leeds, Newleaf Island: four at Leeds Interchange railway station and two at Arowana Peninsula Airport. In total, 168 civilians and six suicide bombers were killed in the attacks, for which the Islamic State claimed responsilibity.

## Background

Around 24 hours prior to the attacks, three nail bombs exploded in the Belgian capital of Brussels - two at the main airport and one at a metro station. 31 civilians and three suicide bombers were killed in the attacks, which were carried out by Islamic State in a similar manner to the Leeds bombings.

Prior to the attacks Newleaf Island had supported a coalition of nations bombing IS militants in Iraq and Syria, although they had not conducted any airstrikes themselves. This was cited by IS as one of the reasons Newleaf Island was attacked, alongside their main aim to destroy Western society and establish a global Islamic caliphate.

## Bombings

There were six co-ordinated suicide bombings - four at Leeds Interchange, followed by two at Arowana Peninsula an hour later.

### Leeds Interchange

Two explosions occurred in the railway station at Leeds Interchange at 08:05 local time, fourteen seconds apart; the first on the station concourse, close to the ticket machines and information centre, and the second on board a busy commuter train arriving into Platform 6 with a service from Melanton. The concourse bombing killed 16 people and injured 60, while the bomb on the Melanton train was the deadliest, with 42 fatalities and over 200 injuries. Most of the dead were on board the train, although several people were also killed on the platform.

Two further explosions occurred at the two main exits to the railway station two minutes later, at 08:07, targeting civilians who were in the process of evacuating the station following the first two bomb explosions. These two suicide bombings occurred less than five seconds apart. The first exploded at the main exit of the station on Exchange Square, killing 37 people and injuring another 100; the second was detonated at the Garden Street exit of the station, killing 28 people and injuring around 50.

The explosions caused a large amount of damage. The train explosion destroyed two carriages of the Class 378 unit and caused the canopies over Platforms 5 and 6 to collapse; in total, six trains were damaged. The concourse and Exchange Square bombings smashed all of the glass in the front facade of the station, while at Garden Street, the roof of the exit area partially collapsed.

In total, the Leeds Interchange attacks killed 123 people plus the four suicide bombers and injured over 400. Following the attacks, Newleaf Island raised their terror threat level to the highest, Code Black, meaning that an attack or attacks was in progress or had recently occurred. Hundreds of armed police officers were deployed to the streets subsequent to the attack.

### Arowana Peninsula Airport

Just over an hour after the Leeds Interchange suicide bombings, at 09:09 local time, two suicide bombs were detonated ten seconds apart in the departures check-in hall at Arowana Peninsula. The first bomb exploded outside the British Airways check-in desks at the western end of the foyer, killing 19 people and injuring around 50; the second bomb exploded outside a branch of Starbucks Coffee at the eastern end of the foyer, killing 26 people and injuring 75.

Following the attack, the airport was closed. Most other airports and transport systems across the country were subsequently closed as well, and both Leedstown and Arowana Peninsula were put on lockdown following the attacks, amid fears of further explosions.

In total, the airport attacks killed 45 people plus two suicide bombers and injured over 125, raising the toll to the attacks to 168 dead (plus six suicide bombers) and over 525 injured, 300 seriously.

## Perpetrators

The six perpetrators of the attacks were all later confirmed to have links to the Islamic State, who claimed responsibility for the attacks; three of the attackers were French nationals, two were Belgian, and one was German. All six had travelled over to Syria to fight for IS in 2014 or 2015, and all six had subsequently returned to the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, where they all shared an apartment close to those used by the November 2015 Paris attackers and the March 2016 Brussels attackers.

It was later confirmed that the six Leeds attackers were all part of the same terrorist cell as the Paris and Brussels attackers and that ultimately the planning for the attack could be traced back to Salah Abdeslam, logistical co-ordinator of the Paris attacks who was arrested in Molenbeek on 18 March. Links were also found to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, ringleader of the Paris attacks, during which he was killed. The findings suggest that Abaaoud and Abdeslam jointly planned a number of attacks - Paris, Brussels, Leeds and maybe more - many months or even years in advance, at least prior to the Paris attacks.

The six attackers were later named as follows:

* Shuraih Nazar, 26, French - Leeds Interchange, concourse
* Nadeem Abad, 27, French - Leeds Interchange, arriving train
* Miqdaam Nazar, 28, French - Leeds Interchange, Exchange Square
* Rayyaan Abad, 27, German - Leeds Interchange, Garden Street
* Zaidaan Hussain, 24, Belgian - Arowana Peninsula Airport, British Airways check-in
* Abdus Samad Dallal, 29, Belgian - Arowana Peninsula Airport, Starbucks Coffee branch

Shuraih and Miqdaam Nazar were both brothers, while Hussain and Dallal were childhood friends. All six attackers are thought to have known and worked alongside each other since at least October 2015 in planning and co-ordinating the attacks alongside Abdeslam and Abaaoud.

### Police raids and arrests

Police raided an apartment in Arowana Peninsula ninety minutes after the attack, but later apologised, stating that reports of the apartment being used as a staging point for the attacks were a false alarm.

It was later confirmed that the attackers had hired a Cessna 206 Caravan light cargo aircraft to fly into Newleaf Island, with their bombs and other equipment, from Belgium undetected. The aircraft landed at a small private grass airfield in Alum Chine on 20 March, and was parked in a small hangar that the attackers had hired until 24 March. The explosives and other equipment were stored inside the aircraft until the morning of the attack.

The airfield was raided by police six hours after the attacks and the aircraft was impounded; several employees at the airfield were questioned voluntarily, providing details about the attackers. Inside the aircraft they found two more explosive devices, eight Kalashnikov rifles, numerous Qu'rans and an Islamic State flag. The number of explosive devices and rifles suggests that there were intended to be two more attackers; the maximum capacity of the aircraft suggests that they would have joined the attackers in Newleaf Island, probably being NI residents.

On 24 March, Belgian police raided an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht and made three arrests in connection with the Leeds attacks. A fourth person, 32-year-old Ziyaad Sadek from Spain, fled through a back door and held himself hostage inside a nearby abandoned building; when armed police stormed the building, he was shot dead after throwing explosives at the officers, injuring several.

The three arrested in Brussels were later named as 33-year-old Abdul Majeed Sharifi, 36-year-old Safwaan Mowad and 31-year-old Aaqil Farooqui, all from the Netherlands; all three were charged with terrorism offences in relation to manufacturing the devices used in the Leeds attacks, and providing logistical support and reconnaisance to the attackers.

### Foiled attacks

Belgian intelligence successfully foiled an attack at Home Interchange on 25 March which would have seen the remote detonation of thirteen rucksacks packed with explosives simultaneously around the interchange during the morning peak, which police estimate would have killed 'upwards of 200 people'. All bombs were defused safely after the interchange had been evacuated.

An gun attack against a memorial service for the Belgium bombings, to be held in Brussels the week after the attacks, was foiled by Newleaf Island intelligence services on 27 March and Belgian police conducted a number of raids as a result. Further attacks on the metro systems in the Belgian cities of Antwerp and Charleroi were also foiled by Newleaf Island intelligence.

## Aftermath

### Newleaf Island

The attack was condemned by the Prime Minister, who announced three days of national mourning following the attacks. The Newleaf Island flag was flown at half mast alongside the Belgian flag, also at half mast, during this time. A minute's silence was held at midday on 24 March. Following the attacks, security was stepped up across the country, and police conducted an increased number of anti-terrorism raids.

### Belgium

Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel condemned the attacks during a speech at a memorial to the Brussels bombings on the day of the Newleaf Island attacks. As news of the attacks was still breaking, Michel addressed the assembled crowds, giving the following speech:

*As we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of 31 people in our own country at the hands of the extremists... news is breaking of another tragedy elsewhere on this great continent, as I am sure you have heard... over on Newleaf Island, in Leeds, at transport hubs just like our own, extremists have this morning callously murdered over 100 people, over 100 innocent civilians just like our own, in attacks very similar to those seen yesterday morning on our own soil. These are both tragedies of the highest magnitude and something which cannot be allowed to happen again. I have been in personal correspondence with the Newleaf Island presidency, and on behalf of all of Belgium, have offered my condolences to our allied nation across the sea. I'd like to extend the minute's silence for which we are all gathered here by an extra minute, to remember the victims of today's cowardly attacks on Newleaf Island, as well as our own.*
In a joint statement, the Newleaf Island and Belgian government confirmed on 23 March that they had signed a mutual defence and intelligence agreement. Starting on 27 March, aircraft from Newleaf Island and Belgium carried out joint airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. The joint intelligence agreement foiled at least three attacks in Newleaf Island and Belgium in the week after it was signed.

### Elsewhere

Dozens of countries stepped up security at transport hubs following the Leeds attacks. The US Embassy reccommended that American citizens 'shelter in place for the time being' pending further developments. The shelter in place warning was lifted at midnight on 28 March. During the same time period, the British Home Office warned against 'all but essential travel' to Leeds following the attacks.

The attacks were condemned by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who described the attacks as 'cowardly' and called it 'a dark week in the fight against terrorism'. French President Francois Hollande also condemned the attacks and urged Europe to 'stand together' against terrorism. US President Barack Obama condemned the attacks and announced that he would be bringing forward his state visit to Newleaf Island to 25 March to 'show solidarity and support during this difficult time'. He also scheduled in visits to the two attack sites.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State, made a rare video appearance to claim responsibility for the attacks on behalf of IS, calling for 'militants across Europe' to 'step up attacks following Brussels and Leeds'. The Newleaf Island government and American intelligence services confirmed the authenticity of the video as genuine.