2007 GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ATTACK

The '2007 Glasgow International Airport attack' occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the main airport terminal and set ablaze^[1] in the first terrorist attack in Scotland since the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.^[2] The attack occurred three days after the appointment of Glasgow-born Scottish MP Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, but Downing Street dismissed suggestions of a connection,^[3] although a close link was quickly established to the foiled attack on London the previous day.
Security bollards outside the entrance stopped the car from entering the terminal, although the doors were damaged. The car's driver was severely burnt in the ensuing fire and five members of the public were also injured, none seriously. Some injuries were sustained by those assisting the police in detaining the occupants.
Both of the car occupants were apprehended at the scene, and all those injured were taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in nearby Paisley.^[4]^[5]^[6] Within three days, Scotland Yard had confirmed that eight people had been taken into custody in connection with this incident and that in London.^[7]^[8]^[9]
Police identified the two men as Bilal Abdullah, a British-born, Muslim doctor of Iraqi descent working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital,^[10]^[11] and Kafeel Ahmed, also known as Khalid Ahmed, the driver, who was treated for severe burns at the same hospital.^[12] A suicide note indicated that the two had intended to die in the attack.^[13] Ahmed did eventually die of his injuries, on 2 August.^[14]

Events

Destinations with direct service from Glasgow International

A dark green Jeep Cherokee, registration number L808 RDT, Appeal over Jeep used in attack travelling at a speed estimated by a witness as about 30 mph^[15] (48 km/h), struck security bollards at the main entrance to Glasgow International Airport. The vehicle was reported to have several petrol containers and propane gas canisters on-board. One eyewitness said flames issued from beneath the car when it hit the building, while another eyewitness said it appeared the driver was trying to drive through the terminal doors. According to reports, the car was occupied by two "Asian-looking" men – a convention used in the UK to refer to individuals of South Asian descent.^[16] Police indicated the vehicle burst into flames when it was driven at the terminal.^[17] An eyewitness noted that a man got out of the car and began to fight with police.^[18] Another eyewitness said that the man was throwing punches and repeatedly shouting "Allah".^[19]^[20]^[21] The man was arrested and has since been named as Bilal Abdulla, a UK-born doctor of Iraqi descent who was working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Another man exited the car and ran into the terminal building while he was on fire and began writhing on the ground, before being held down by a member of the public.^[22]
Sky News reported that petrol was spread from containers by the occupants when they got out of the car. During the subsequent investigation propane gas canisters were removed from the car. A Strathclyde Police spokesman confirmed the two men in the car were arrested,^[23] one of them badly burned. A witness stated that a passenger of the vehicle was aflame from head to toe, as he struggled with police, with some witnesses reported to have shouted "just let him burn".^[24] The man was initially taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley before being transferred to the specialist burns unit in the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he died on 2 August.^[25] The Jeep was removed early on the morning of Sunday 1 July before flights resumed and the airport was partially opened.
Royal Alexandra Hospital's accident and emergency department was evacuated and then closed when an unidentified device on the bomber's body was found. Affected patients were taken to the Southern General Hospital and the Western Infirmary. It later emerged the device was not explosive.^[26] The second man, Dr Bilal Abdulla, was initially held at nearby Govan police station, one of the UK's high security police stations with the capability to hold terrorist suspects.^[27] He was later transferred to Paddington Green Police Station in London, along with two unnamed suspects, after the Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini gave her consent to a combined prosecution in England under English law.^[28]
In the aftermath of the attack the airport was evacuated and all flights suspended. Evacuated holiday-goers, including some who were left in aircraft for up to ten hours after the event, were accommodated overnight in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.^[29]^[30] BAA indicated the airport main terminal re-opened for an incoming flight from Ibiza on 1 July 2007 at 07:37, and began handling departures from approximately 09:00.^[31]
The two men involved in the attacks were believed to reside at Neuk Crescent in Houston, Renfrewshire (approximately three miles from the airport), and are believed to have lived there for nearly 12 months.^[32] Furthermore, the two men involved in the airport attack are believed to be the same men who had parked two car bombs in London on Friday, 29 June.^[33]
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology identified the vehicle of two suspects connected with the Glasgow Airport attack on the M6 Motorway between junction 18 & 17 near Holmes Chapel,Cheshire. Reports suggest that up to 18 unmarked police cars performed a rolling roadblock. Three unmarked police cars overtook the suspects' vehicle, and took up a position on the carriageway that prevented the suspects from overtaking, while up to 15 other unmarked cars approached the suspects' car from the rear, forming a buffer of police vehicles between the suspects' car and other motorway users. The police brought the suspects to a slow halt and they were arrested. The BBC stated that the medical doctor arrested was Dr. Mohammed Asha.^[34]
The police say they believe the attack is linked to the two bombs discovered and defused in London 36 hours before.^[35]
On the afternoon of 1 July, police carried out a controlled explosion on a car in the car park of the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where one suspect was being treated. The hospital was cordoned off for a time, and ambulances were redirected to other local hospitals. It is not clear if there was another device attached to the second car.^[36]
Police made two further arrests in Paisley in the early hours of 2 July in connection with the attack, bringing the total number of arrests to seven.^[37] At least two suspects are thought to be locum physicians reportedly working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and at a Staffordshire hospital. These hospitals are the subject of police searches.^[38]
On 2 July 2007, BBC News reported that an eighth person is being held in Australia in connection with both the Glasgow and London incidents.^[39] Australian news reports indicated that two people in Queensland were detained for questioning. Both are doctors; one, Mohammed Asif Ali, was released after questioning with no charges being brought.^[40] The other, Mohamed Haneef, 27, graduated from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in India in 2002 and entered Australia due to the shortage of doctors in regional hospitals.^[41] He was working as a registrar at a Gold Coast hospital and was detained at Brisbane Airport while trying to board a one-way flight to India via Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.^[42]^[40]^[44] His family claimed that Haneef's link to the terrorists is only tenuous, he was not involved in the plot, and that he was returning to India to see his wife and ten-day-old daughter.^[45] India's Deputy High Commissioner to Australia Vinod Kumar was quoted as saying that Haneef is granted consular access in Australia and that a consul has already met Haneef. ^[46]
On July 27, 2007, all charges against Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef were dropped by Magistrate Wendy Cull in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. Prosecutor A.J. McSporran said that there would be "no reasonable prospect of a conviction of Dr Haneef being secured." He told the court that prosecutors had made two mistakes at a bail hearing on July 14.
One was that Dr Haneef's SIM card had been found in a burning jeep at Glasgow Airport when, in fact, it had been found in the possession of the brother of a terrorism suspect in Liverpool. The second error was that Dr Haneef had once lived with some of the UK bombing suspects, when in fact he had not. The Australian Labor Party has called for an external review of the handling of the Dr Haneef case by the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Arrests

#Dr. Bilal Abdullah, 27, born in the UK, and moved to Iraq as a child.^[47] Alleged attacker, arrested immediately at Glasgow International Airport.
#Dr. Kafeel Ahmed, aka Khalid Ahmed,^[48] born in India, alleged attacker. Taken to hospital after the attack and treated for burns over 90% of his body surface.^[49] Died from his injuries, 2 August 2007.¹⁴
#Dr. Mohammed Asha, 26, from Jordan. Arrested on the M6 motorway.
#Marwah Dana Asha, 27, from Jordan. Wife of Mohammed Asha and arrested with him on the M6 motorway. She was later released without charge. ^[50]
#Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, 26, born in India. Arrested in Liverpool. A doctor who works at Halton Hospital in Cheshire. Brother of Kafeel Ahmed.
#Dr. Mohamed Haneef, 27, from India.^[51] Detained at Brisbane Airport and later charged with recklessly supporting a terrorist organisation, charges which have now been dropped. Currently appealing cancellation of his work visa by the Australian government. Second cousin of Kafeel and Sabeel Ahmed.
#Unnamed 28 year old Saudi man, arrested in Houston, Renfrewshire. Reported to be a medical student working at Royal Alexandra Hospital. Released without charge.[1]
#Unnamed 25 year old Saudi man, arrested in Houston along with unnamed 28 year old. Also reported to be a medical student at the RAH. Released without charge.[2]

Medical links

The BBC reported that eight people were being questioned, most of whom had worked for the NHS and five of whom were doctors.^[52]
''The Times'' reported on 4 July that an al-Qaeda leader in Iraq may have hinted to Canon Andrew White, a senior British cleric working in Baghdad, that "those who cure you will kill you". This may have alluded to the doctors alleged to have been behind the attempted terrorist attacks in Glasgow and London. The cleric passed this information on to the British government — but without the specific wording — in mid-April 2007.^[40]

Reactions

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was kept briefed on developments by officials. He chaired a meeting of COBRA, the government's emergency committee, on the evening of the Glasgow incident to deal with both it and the two car bombs shortly preceding it. He also spoke to the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond regarding the incident.^[54] Brown further addressed the issues by telling the media, "I know that the British people will stand together". He thanked emergency services and urged the public to remain vigilant.
Alex Salmond, along with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill and the Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini participated in the COBRA meeting chaired by Gordon Brown. Salmond stated that "The incident at Glasgow Airport today as well as recent events in London show that we face threats both north and south of the border – and both the Scottish and UK governments are united in our determination to stand up to that threat to protect our communities".^[55]
Kenny MacAskill, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, insisted that the recent terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport was not committed by 'home-grown' terrorists.^[56]
At 20:15, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack and that the United Kingdom terrorism threat level had been elevated from "Severe" to "Critical", meaning "further attacks are expected imminently".
National TV channel ITV changed its schedule on the night of Monday 2 July following the attack: the channel was supposed to show ''Die Hard 2'' (the main plot of which is about terrorists attacking an airport) as the Monday evening film, but replaced it with ''Cliffhanger''.
On 4 July, the national status was lowered from "Critical" back to "Severe".

International

★ United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff stated that "We have been in close contact with our counterparts in the U.K. regarding today’s incident at the Glasgow airport and yesterday’s car bomb discoveries in London. Our law enforcement and intelligence officials are closely monitoring the ongoing investigations. The senior leadership of the U.S. government has been meeting on these issues both yesterday and today. DHS and the FBI have provided updates and protective measures guidance to our state and local homeland security and law enforcement partners".

★ Gordon Johndroe, a spokesperson for the United States National Security Council, told reporters that the National Security Council is "in contact with British authorities on the matter."

★ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attack and vows to fight for an end to global terrorism.

Security responses

According to the Metropolitan Police, extra officers were deployed at landmarks, airports, railway stations and bus terminals across the country on Sunday, and have been ordered to increase the use of stop and search powers, while armed police were patrolling major rail stations. They also said that there would be at least 450 officers monitoring a Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 1 July in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
In response to both the attack on Glasgow Airport and the attempted attacks on London security around the Wimbledon Tennis Championships was increased with the use of concrete car blockers.^[57]

Aftermath

At approximately 08:00 on 1 July 2007, the police stated that a phased reopening would begin, allowing the airport to return to normal. The first flight after the incident was due to leave at approximately 09:00. Strathclyde Police searched a number of houses in nearby Houston.^[58] At 15:10 (23 hours 59 minutes after the attack), the main terminal building (Terminal 1) re-opened. The inner lanes immediately in fron of the terminal building are completely off limits to all vehicles, and only authorised public transport vehicles are being allowed to use the outer lanes.
Police in Liverpool have arrested one man in connection with the events in Glasgow and London, whilst two people were arrested by police on the M6 near Sandbach in Cheshire. Two Liverpool addresses are being searched, in the Mossley Hill and Toxteth areas.^[59]
Mohammad Sarwar, MP for the nearby constituency of Glasgow Central, has reported that threats have been made against the Muslim community in Scotland following the incident.^[60]
During the evening of Monday 2 July the West Coast Mainline rail line was closed due to two suspect packages found at Abington, South Lanarkshire.

Other airports

Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Newcastle's airports all took measures to prevent similar action by blocking off their roads approaching and in front of the terminal buildings, with the terminals and blockades policed by Lothian and Borders Police, South Wales Police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Northumbria Police respectively.
London Luton Airport moved the taxi ranks away from the main terminal building. Blackpool International Airport was shut down temporarily. Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Glasgow's second airport, was kept open with armed police on-site. London Heathrow Airport advised that people do not bring private cars near the passenger terminals for security reasons.
On the evening of 30 June, Liverpool John Lennon Airport was closed for eight hours while a vehicle was removed and taken away for forensic testing, reopening at about 04:40 on Sunday morning.^[61]
In Canada, Pearson International Airport, in Toronto, Ontario, increased their security measures in response to the attack.^[62]
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that airport security in the United States would be tightened,^[63]^[64] but that the airport terror alert level would remain at its current status, "Orange" (also called "High"), where it has been since the autumn of 2006.^[65] An additional issued statement from the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stated, "...at this point, I have seen no specific, credible information suggesting that this latest incident is connected to a threat to the [United States]."
An article on the website of ABC News alleged that United States law enforcement officials were informed two weeks prior to the Glasgow incident of possible attacks on "airport infrastructure or aircraft" in Glasgow and in the Czech Republic, leading to the placement of Federal Air Marshals on flights into and out of Glasgow and Prague.^[66]
On 1 July, the American Airlines terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York was evacuated due to a suspicious package left on the kerb.^[67]

Appeals for information

On 1 July the police asked to hear from anyone with information about the dark green Jeep Cherokee, registration number L808 RDT, and also asked for any amateur footage or photos taken of the vehicle on fire.

Public reaction

This attack, and the earlier attempt in London, were both notable as high-profile, yet substantially unsuccessful^[68]. The public reaction – particularly in the blogosphere – was amusement as much as fear.^[69]^[70]

John Smeaton

'John Smeaton' (born in Bishopton, RenfrewshireMeet John Smeaton: One Kick and He is the Hero of Glasgow, ''The Wall Street Journal'', Vol CCL, No. 5, July 7-8. 2007, p. A6 ) is a Scottish baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. He became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack. Smeaton lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire,'This is Glasgow. We'll just set aboot ye', ''The Guardian'' 5 July 2007 {retrieved 25 July 2007) a town outside the city and near the airport. Brought up in Erskine, he was educated at Park Mains High School.
Smeaton was a general bystander when he first witnessed the incident. He later recalled his first thoughts on being confronted by the two desperate suspects in a burning car as he smoked a cigarette during his break: "What's the score? I've got to get this sorted."
He added "I thought 'that's not right' and ran over to assist. All that was going through my mind was I've got to help the policeman, I'm not letting these guys get away with this."^[71]
It was reported that Smeaton shouted "fucking come on then" and aimed a kick at the now deceased Kafeel Ahmed.
During the incident Smeaton also helped drag Michael Kerr to safety after Kerr, another person to intervene in the event, had been left lying with a broken leg beside the bomb-laden jeep. ^[72]
The incident has been described as inspiring others to take the law into their own hands. Newsagent and former policeman Mohammed Afzah cited Smeaton as inspiration for his facing down and repelling a would-be armed robber. ^[73]
In late July, Smeaton returned to his old job as a baggage handler at the airport.

Television interviews

Following the attack, Smeaton gave television interviews to the BBC, ITV and CNN which were broadcast worldwide.^[74] There were numerous heroes on that day, but Smeaton's energy and personality given in his interviews as well as his behaviour and attitude towards the attack seem to have reflected that of most people from Glasgow and around the world and as a result he has gained a fanbase of admirers.
The television interviews which brought him to the attention of the world, were based around his own reaction to the attack.

★ After he saw the police grappling with one of the attackers, he thought:
:"You're nae hitting the Polis mate, there's nae chance."

★ Describing his own actions:
:"So I ran straight towards the guy, we're all trying to get a kick-in at him, take a boot to subdue the guy."

★ Asked by ITV News what his message to terrorists was, he said:
:"Glasgae doesnae accept this. This is Glasgae; we'll set aboot ye."^[75]

★ In his News of the World interview, he said:
:"If any more extremists are still wanting to rise up and start trouble, know this: We’ll rise right back up against you. New York, Madrid, London, Paisley … we’re all in this together and make no mistake, none of us will hold back from putting the boot in."^[76]

★ The Sun interviewed him for their July 12 edition. One of his more telling quotes reads:
:"Would you stop it with all this hero worship? Anyone else would have done exactly the same as me."

★ From an interview with Scotland Today:
:"If you see the law going down then you have to step up to the plate. I mean, at the end of the day, when the law falls, we fall."

Tribute website and media attention

A tribute website^[77] was set up in Smeaton's honour, which received 500,000 hits in its first 48 hours.^[78] The website urges visitors to buy a pint of beer for him; over 1000 pints were donated within two days. The BBC reported on the 18th July 2007 that John Smeaton has pledged half of the money donated for pints of beer to the veteran's charity Erskine, which cares for former servicemen and women at five homes throughout Scotland. The balance of the money will be used to fund a night out for those who also assisted at the incident at Glasgow Airport. ^[79]
The website also called for Smeaton to make an appearance at the popular Scottish music festival, T in the Park.^[80] The website's creator said:
A Bebo group was also set up in dedication to Smeaton, called the John Smeaton Fan Club.^[81] Over 550 Bebo members had joined the club within 48 hours, and this page also received exposure in the ''Daily Record''^[82]
A Facebook group called the John Smeaton Appreciation Society was also established with over 4,000 members; this refers to John as: ''Glasgow's Jack Bauer.''
Smeaton was also the subject of a front-page article in ''The Wall Street Journal''.^[83]
In the weeks after the attack, Smeaton made a variety of public appearances and interviews including appearing on the pitch at Ibrox Stadium before a football match^[84] and meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.^[85] He also appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.^[86]
In September 2007 he started writing a column for the Scottish edition of the Sun newspaper every Thursday^[87] and was invited to appear at the World Trade Center ground zero for the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.Daily Record, 4 September 2007. He also appeared on Richard and Judy.^[88]

References

1. UN chief Ban deplores terrorism in Glasgow, London
2. A time for vigilance
3. Airport attack nothing to do with Brown's Scottish roots, says No 10
4. Flaming SUV rams U.K. airport; 2 arrests
5. Blazing car rammed into Glasgow Airport
6. Britain under attack as bombers strike at airport
7. British police arrest 2 more in terror probe
8. Flaming SUV rams U.K. airport; 4 arrests
9. 'Terror ringleader' is brilliant NHS doctor For an explanation of a key term in this article, see Supergrass (informer).
10. Five Doctors Held Over Attacks
11. Hospital staff stunned as doctors are questioned
12. Glance at UK terror plot suspects
13. Glasgow suspects left suicide note
14. "Glasgow Airport attack man dies", BBC News, 2 August 2007
15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6257292.stm
16. Glasgow, London Attacks Believed Tied
17. Airport alert 'is terror attack'
18. Britain on Edge After Car Slams Into Airport
19. Terror threat 'critical' as Glasgow attacked
20. Doctors among those detained in UK terror probes
21. 4 Held in Scottish Attack as British See Broader Plot
22. Eyewitness 'tackled' burning man
23.
24. Two held as blazing jeep crashes into British airport in 'terror strike'
25.
26. Blazing car crashes into airport
27. Burning Car In Airport Terminal
28. Terror suspects moved to London
29. Sleepless and fed in the SECC
30. Glasgow victims were stranded for ten hours
31. Airports respond to terror alert
32. Raids on addresses in Renfrewshire
33. Terror plot: Glasgow and London attacks 'were carried out by same men'
34. Car Bombings Suspect "On the Run"
35. Home Office: Current Threat Level
36. Police Blow Up Car At Hospital
37. Two more held over bomb attacks
38. Car bombing suspects: who are they
39. Eighth person held overseas
40. Al-Qaeda 'hinted at alleged doctor attacks'
41. Doctor arrested over UK plot named
42. Hospital registrar in terror bust
43. Al-Qaeda 'hinted at alleged doctor attacks'
44. Australia detains terror suspect
45. Doctor's family explains plane ticket, SIM card
46. Arrested Indian doc granted consular access in Australia
47. Brilliant student, doctor - and now a terror suspect Ian Herbert
48. An Indian Muslim behind the Glasgow terror plot
49. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6264230.stm
50. Woman released in bomb plots probe
51. Ties that bind terror car bomb suspects
52. BBC1 News 8.30 am 3 July 2007.
53. Al-Qaeda 'hinted at alleged doctor attacks'
54.
55. Scottish Executive
56. Terrorists not 'home-grown', ''BBC News'' 1 July 2007
57. Two More Terror Suspects Arrested in Glasgow Probe
58. Houses searched following attack
59. Police confident in bombers hunt
60. Threats made after Glasgow attack
61.
62.
63.
64.
65. Department of Homeland Security press release for 29 June 2007.
66. US Warned of Glasgow Threat Two Weeks Ago
67. Suspicious package forces evacuation at JFK terminal
68. The Register
69. "Inspiring terror and inspiring mirth are pretty much mutually exclusive. It's the British way."
70. "We may be witnessing the implosion of takfiri jihadists--religious fanatics who are incredibly inept."
71. Baggage handler becomes web hero
72. 'This is Glasgow. We'll just set aboot ye'
73. Newsagent 'karate chops' robber
74. The baggage handler who tackled terrorists
75. Raising a pint (or 1000) for Glasgow's 'Jack Bauer'
76. [3]
77. http://www.johnsmeaton.com/
78. The making of a legend on the internet
79. Airport 'hero' in charity pledge
80. Airport hero festival spot call
81. http://www.bebo.com/JohnSmeatonHero
82. John Smeaton: Our Hero
83. "Meet John Smeaton: One Kick and He Is The Hero of Glasgow", Alistair MacDonald and Ian McDonald, ''The Wall Street Journal'', page A1, 2007-07-07
84. JOHN SMEATON: I CAN HANDLE IT
85. PM applauds hero airport worker
86. BBC News reference
87. It'll be a bag of laughs, p22-23, The Scottish Sun, Wed Sep 5 2007
88. Inverness Courier.

External links

★ ''Washington Post Photo Gallery''

★ BBC report

★ Pictures from BBC

★ Sky News report

★ Reuters report

★ Glasgow Airport

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