London Bombing Campaign

The **London Bombing Campaign** was the name given to a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that took place througout London in the summer of 2021.

## Timeline

### Westhaven Estate

The first attack took place at the Westhaven Estate, Chingwell, Borough of Lewisham, London.

An anonymous tip was passed to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command that a bombmaker named Andy Phelan was operating an explosives factory from his flat. Members of CTC, Specialist Firearms Command and Explosive Ordnance Disposal attended and disarmed two explosive devices in Phelan's flat. Phelan was then discovered in the boot of his car on the estate, badly beaten and strapped to a suicide vest. Despite signal jamming equipment being used, the secondary detonator was still able to be activated, however was disconnected from the bomb by Explosives Officer Lana Washington seconds beforehand.

However, both the flat devices, the suicide vest and framing Phelan were revealed to be a ruse to draw as many emergency services to the location as possible. As members of the Metropolitan Police, believing the situation to be resolved, began taking down the cordon and letting residents back to their homes, Explosives Officer Joel Nutkins noticed a nondescript van that hadn't yet been checked by officers. Before he was able to give much of a warning, a large IED in the back of the van was detonated, killing him and numerous others, as well as seriously injuring many more. The body count rendered the attack to be the most deadly on British soil since the 7/7 bombings in 2005.

### Amburiq Mosque

The second attack took place at the Amburiq Mosque, located in Elephant and Castle, Borough of Southwark, London.

When setting up the mosque for prayers, Imam Mohammed noticed a plastic bag secured to the door of one of the rooms with a zip tie. Upon closer examination he saw what appeared to be a bomb and timer inside, causing him to evacuate the mosque and call the Metropolitan Police. Both Counter Terrorism Command and Specialist Firearms Command, as well as the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit arrived, with EXPO Lana Washington entering the building to diffuse the device. Once inside, she realised the device was advanced and equipped with a secondary mercury balance trigger, meaning it would detonate if the bag was moved. She also realised there was a hostage, Muzzein Ali Hussein, tied up in the room behind the door. Despite her best efforts, Washington was unable to diffuse the complex bomb in time and was forcibly removed by her police assistant explosives officer PC Danny. The device detonated, destroying a portion of the mosque and killing Hussein.

### The Five Oaks

The third attack took place at The Five Oaks pub and surrounding areas in Vauxhall, Borough of Lambeth, London.

What appeared to be an ordinary evening delivery to the pub from Elsom Brewery was deemed suspicious by staff once the driver ran away after parking the van. After noticing the back of the van seemed weighed down, they called the Metropolitan Police, who had at the same time received a video message from The Crusaders accepting responsibility. As assistant explosives officer PC Danny attempted to diffuse the device in the rear of the van, the robot was shot at by an unknown gunman in a block of flats opposite. EXPO Lana Washington was able to disarm the device by covering her movements with smoke grenades, blocking the snipers vision. Nobody was killed as a result of the explosion, however Nicholas Roberts was shot dead by Specialist Firearms Command after emerging from the block of flats wearing a suicide vest. The unknown sniper was also able to escape after murdering CTSFO PC Simon Randall, and donning a police uniform to make his way out of the secure crime scene.

### Farringdon Tube Station

The fourth attack was due to take place at Farringdon Tube Station, Borough of Islington, London.

Members of The Crusaders, specifically Nicholas Roberts had begun to groom a young and disaffected man Billy Washington, who was at the time unemployed and struggling to find purpose. He also had no criminal record and was not known to the Metropolitan Police, meaning he could be used as a "cleanskin" to inadvertently assist their operations without being detected by law enforcement. Without his knowledge, the group rigged a bomb into Washington's car and asked him to collect them from Farringdon Tube Station. What was planned was for Billy to exit the car after parking in front of the station, triggering the bomb that was wired to the driver side door. The explosion was intended to kill a large crows of Anti-Fascist protestors who were gathered around the station.

However, the conspiracy was intercepted by Counter Terrorism Command, who were able to get Washington's elder sister, Explosives Officer Lana Washington, to call Billy and get him to drive the vehicle away from the station to Cranstead Fields park. However, despite the efforts of members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, Washington became too scared and attempted to exit the car, blowing it and himself up once he had reached the park area.

### University of South London

The fifth attack was due to take place at the University of South London, Borough of Southwark, London.

A live radio broadcast of The Simon Shenley Show, a political talk show hosted by CitymetFM host Simon Shenley, was intended to take place inside one of the university auditoriums. The topic of discussion was the Deptford South by-election, and was due to be attended by both pundits and politicians, many from the Progressive Alliance. Crusaders terrorist Frank Welsh was able to gain access to the set beforehand, disguised as a sound engineer, and plant a large explosive amongst the sound equipment. However, this was noticed by other technicians who called the Metropolitan Police. A team from Counter Terrorism Command led by DI Thom Youngblood and DI Samira Desai evacuated the building and sent in EXPO's Lana Washington and John Hudson to disarm the device. Welsh was spotted in the vicinity with what appeared to be two trigger devices, and was shot by CTSFO rifle officer PC Costa. However, Hudson himself was revealed to be a member of the terrorist group and activated the explosive himself. The explosion destroyed a significant portion of the building, although Washington and other officers were able to get to hard cover.

## Perpetrators

### Initial Suspects

The Metropolitan Police initially believed the bombings to be the work of radical Islamists, with the remote triggers in multiple IED's matching those used by the Islamic State. However, further investigations suggested that the bombs were specifically designed to emulate Islamist devices to draw attention away from the true attackers.

### The Crusaders

Further investigations reveal that the bombings were actually being carried out by The Crusaders, a far right terrorist organisation and splinter group of the political party English Flag.

Due to the military explosives utilised (HMX-13 stolen from Porton Down), and the groups ability to circumvent and escape police tactics, concerns grew that some members were employed by either the Metropolitan Police or British Army. It later transpired that there were two members with explosives training; Frank Welsh (a reservist in the Territorial Army) and Metropolitan Police Explosives Officer John Hudson.

* Nicholas Roberts - shot and killed by CTSFO Inspector Lee Robins
* Frank Welsh - shot and killed by CTSFO rifle officer PC Costa

## Victims

* EXPO Joel Nutkins - killed in an IED explosion at the Westhaven Estate
* Ali Hussein - killed in an IED explosion at the Amburiq Mosque
* PC Simon Randall - throat slit when responding to active shooter at The Five Oaks
* Billy Washington - killed by an IED placed in his car at Cranstead Fields park