Attacks on Metros
Unfortunately, subway systems are vulnerable potential targets for terrorist attacks, as are airports, shopping malls or other places with lots of people.
The most serious attacks on metros have been:
- Moscow, 29 March 2010. In the morning, Moscow's metro was hit by suicide bombings, killing 38 people and injuring 60. The blasts took place at Lubyanka station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line and, 40 minutes later, at Park Kultury station on the Koltsevaya Line. Supposedly, militant groups from the North Caucasus region were trying to bring their conflict to the nation's capital [bbc.co.uk].
- Mumbai (Bombay), 11 July 2006: seven bombs detonated in first-class compartments of the local suburban railway and resulted in 207 dead and 714 injured. An eighth bomb could be defused. Lashkar-e-Qahhar, an Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility [wikipedia.org].
- London, 7 July 2005: Islamic suicide bombers set off explosions on three underground trains and one bus almost simultaneously, resulting in 52 dead and 700 injured [wikipedia.org]. This was followed by four attempted bomb attacks two weeks later with only one person injured.
- Madrid, 11 March 2004: ten explosions in four Cercanias suburban metro trains killed 191 people and wounded 1460. Islamic extremists were found to be responsible [wikipedia.org].
- Moscow, 6 February 2004: a suicide bomber from Karachay-Cherkessia (a republic in the Russian Federation) killed 42 and wounded 250 on a line 2 metro train [wikipedia.org].
- Tokyo, 20 March 1995: the Aum cult sect released sarin, a chemical warfare gas, on several Tokyo subway trains, causing 12 fatal casualties and 5000 injured [cfrterrorism.org], [wikipedia.org].
The danger of terrorist attacks on metro systems persists, but probability theory indicates that chances to get involved are extremely low, considering the sheer number of passengers (over 1 billion annually in London for instance). Compared to driving an automobile, using a metro is a much safer option.
Updated 29 Mar 2010.
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