Trajectories and Burials

The four human bombs that perpetrated the 7/7 attacks were all British nationals. Three of them were born in the United Kingdom to Pakistani parents. The fourth was born in Jamaica and arrived in the U.K. at a very early age. Examination of the trajectory of these four jihadis highlights the importance of the “gang” or “clique” phenomenon analyzed by Marc Sageman.5 Unlike the September 11, 2001 hijackers, who had traveled from Asia to Europe and from Saudi Arabia to the United States through complex networks to prepare the most spectacular attacks so far this century, the young men who perpetrated the London bombings had organized locally. The British authorities immediately labeled them “homegrown terrorists.” “the Home Office returned the bodies and body parts to the families with dignity so that they could organize "normal" funeral services in keeping with the Muslim religion”.