Shehzad Tanweer
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Shehzad Tanweer (15 December 1982 – 7 July 2005) was a British terrorist. Alongside three others, he detonated explosives in three trains on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
and one bus in central
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
during the
7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, London's public transport during the ...
. 52 people were killed, plus the 4 bombers themselves, and over 700 wounded in the attacks. Tanweer was named by
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
as the man who detonated a bomb while travelling eastbound on the Circle Line between Liverpool Street and
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...
, killing himself and seven of the 52 killed in the attacks. The other three men were identified as Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay, and Mohammad Sidique Khan. All four homegrown terrorists were killed in the explosions.


Biography

Tanweer was born in
St Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...
's maternity hospital,
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
to Parveen Akhtar, whose husband, Mohammed Mumtaz Tanweer, was originally from the
Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
region of
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. In 1984, the family moved to the Beeston area of
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, then to Colwyn Road (also in Beeston) when Tanweer was seven. Known as Kaka (little one) by his family, he attended Wortley High School, where he was described as politically moderate by his friends, who knew him as an outstanding sportsman, excelling at cricket, triple jump, long-distance running, football, and ju-jitsu. He then attended
Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univer ...
, where he studied
sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...
before leaving for Pakistan in 2004 to attend a course in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic studies. At the time of his death, Tanweer is believed to have worked occasionally in his father's
fish and chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...
shop. His father had previously owned a
curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...
takeaway and a butcher's shop and was respected locally as a prominent businessman. Tanweer attended several mosques including Bengali and Stratford Street mosque in Beeston, where two of the other London bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan and Hasib Hussain, are also believed to have worshipped. He also frequented the Hamara Youth Access Point, a drop-in centre for teens, alleged to have been used as a recruitment centre by Khan. Police have confirmed that Khan and Tanweer went on a two-hour rafting trip together on 4 June 2005 at the National Whitewater Centre in
Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
in Wales. Forensic evidence found in rucksacks after the abortive 21 July London attacks has linked those attacks to a second group of young men of Asian appearance who booked a rafting trip there on the same day as Tanweer and Khan. Relatives in Pakistan have said that Tanweer had boasted of wanting to die as a "holy warrior" and that he was enamoured with
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
. They noted that incidents such as the
2005 Quran desecration controversy The 2005 Quran desecration controversy began when ''Newsweek'' April 30, 2005, issue contained a report asserting that United States prison guards or interrogators had deliberately damaged a copy of the Quran. A week later, ''The New Yorker'' rep ...
had "always been in his mind". Tanweer's body was buried at the shrine of a local Islamic saint in Tanweer's ancestral village in Samundari, Pakistan on 27 October 2005. In 2011, evidence emerged that Tanweer had a 'secret girlfriend' with whom he had been intimately involved for a period of three years beginning in 2002, until shortly before his death.


Trip to Pakistan

After completing the
hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
earlier in the year, Tanweer travelled to Pakistan for a course in
Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...
at a
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
. The Pakistani government has released footage of Tanweer arriving at Karachi International Airport with Mohammad Sidique Khan, believed to be the ringleader of the London bombers, on
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...
Flight TK 1056 on 19 November 2004. Tanweer and Khan stayed in Pakistan until 8 February, then flew back to London together. The youngest of the London cell, Hasib Hussain, arrived in Karachi from
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, on 15 July 2004 on
Saudi Arabian Airlines Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, th ...
Flight SV 714. Intelligence sources say the school was located in
Muridke Muridke (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ), is a city and headquarters of Muridke Tehsil of Sheikhupura District in Punjab Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 37th largest city of Pakistan by population. M ...
, Pakistan, 20 miles outside
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, named Jamia Manzoorul Islam and is believed to be connected with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a banned militant Islamist group. The madrasa has denied any connection with Tanweer.


London bombing

A few days before the bombing, Tanweer rented a lilac
Nissan Micra The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car (B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan from 1982. The March name has always been used in the Japanese markets but also in many export markets a ...
from a local car-rental agency, and at around the same time, dyed his hair and eyebrows light brown, according to friends; this was due to the strong bleaching effect given off by the bombs' ingredients . On 7 July, Tanweer, Khan, Hussain, and Lindsay are believed to have picked up the bombs from a house in the Burley area of Leeds, hiding them in large rucksacks, then to have driven to
Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
,
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
in the Nissan, which he left parked in Luton railway station car park. In Luton, the men boarded the 07.48 Thameslink train, arriving at King's Cross in London at 08.20 hours, where they went their separate ways and detonated their bombs. London Underground has confirmed that the three underground bombs exploded within 60 seconds of each other at 8:50 a.m. Tanweer travelled eastbound on the Circle line from Kings Cross, detonating his bomb o
train number 204
between Liverpool Street and
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...
stations, also killing at least seven people. He was identified from body parts found in the carriage he blew up. After the bombings, police found 16 other bombs in Tanweer's car, several of them so-called "initiators" for the rucksack bombs: plastic bottles turned into nail bombs, containing a detonator attached to an electrical cable. Felt-roofing nails were fixed to the outside of the bottles with their tips pointing outwards, apparently intended to cause maximum soft-tissue damage. The devices would then have had cakes of high explosive packed around them.


Video statement

On 6 July 2006, a video statement by Tanweer was broadcast by
Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...
. In the video, which included remarks by
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
, Tanweer said: "What have you witnessed now is only the beginning of a string of attacks that will continue and become stronger until you pull your forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq. And until you stop your financial and military support to America and Israel." Tanweer argued that the non-Muslims of Britain deserve such attacks because they voted for a government which "continues to oppress our mothers, children, brothers and sisters in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya" Tanweer's statement was therefore clearer in making this link with British foreign policy than that of Mohammad Sidique Khan, the presumed lead bomber. The video has also served to solidify speculation that both Khan and Tanweer had contact with
Ayman Al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
and other senior figures in the
Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
organisation while in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
. The video also featured a segment by
Adam Yahiye Gadahn Adam Yahiye Gadahn (, ''Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan''; September 1, 1978 – January 19, 2015) was an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Islamist group al-Qaeda, as well as prolific noise musici ...
.


Assets

Tanweer left behind £121,000, but left no
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
. A spokesman for the probate department at the High Court said: “The net amount figure of £121,000 is the realisable figure which is what is left after taxes and debts on the estate have been deducted."Tube suicide bomber left mystery £121,000
/ref>


See also

* Mohammad Sidique Khan, Edgware Road underground train * Hasib Hussain, No. 30 Transport for London omnibus * Germaine Lindsay, Piccadilly Line underground train *
21 July 2005 London bombings On 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks by four Islamism, Islamist extremists disrupted part of London's public transport system as a follow-up attack to the 7 July 2005 London bombings two weeks earlier. The explosions occurred around mid ...


References


"From cricket-lover who enjoyed a laugh to terror suspect"
by Sandra Laville and Ian Cobain, ''The Guardian'', 13 July 2005

by Brian Murphy, ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2005
"Investigators reveal London bomber's links to al-Qaeda"
by Gethin Chamberlain, ''The Scotsman'', 16 July 2005

by James Sturcke and agencies, ''The Guardian'', 27 July 2005
Images obtained by ''ABC News''
by Sandra Laville, ''The Guardian'', 24 September 2005


Further reading



{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanweer, Shehzad 1982 births 2005 deaths 2005 suicides 21st-century British murderers Alumni of Leeds Beckett University British people of Punjabi descent Criminals from Yorkshire English Islamists English mass murderers English people of Pakistani descent Islamic terrorism in England Pakistani Islamists People from Beeston, Leeds Perpetrators of the July 2005 London bombings