An attack yesterday (June 3, 2017) in central London has killed at least seven people and injured more than 40 others. Police say that a van drove on to the pavement of London Bridge, ploughing over a few pedestrians before heading to Borough Market where the attackers started to stab people randomly with knives.
The UK’s recent history with terrorism also includes sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, but the deadliest attacks in mainland Britain over the past decade or so were linked to other motives.
May 22, 2017
A suicide bomber attacked people coming out from an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, killing 23 including himself. The attacker is thought to have known links with the terrorist group ISIL, also known as the Islamic State.
March 22, 2017
Five people were killed in London when an Islamist extremist drove a car into pedestrians before crashing into a barrier outside parliament and fatally stabbing a police officer inside the grounds.
June 16, 2016
Member of parliament Jo Cox was murdered in her constituency near Leeds just before the Brexit referendum. She was shot and stabbed by a rightwing extremist, who was given a life sentence for the murder.
March 4, 2016
Northern Ireland prison officer Adrian Ismay was killed by a bomb planted under his car in Belfast. The responsibility was claimed by the New Irish Republican Army, a sectarian group.
May 22, 2013
Two Islamic extremists murdered Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old army officer, in London. They rammed him with a car and then attempted to decapitate him. The attackers were jailed for life.
April 2, 2011
Northern Ireland policeman Ronan Kerr was killed by a bomb planted under his car outside his home near Omagh. The responsibility was claimed by a dissident group of former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a sectarian group.
June 30, 2007
Two Islamic extremists drove a car filled with petrol and propane tanks into the main terminal at the Glasgow airport. One of the attackers died in the incident and five people were injured.
July 7, 2005
Four suicide bombers attacked commuters in London, killing 52 and injuring hundreds. Three of the bombs were set off in Tube trains and one on a bus during the morning rush hour.