Downing Street mortar attack

1991 CE.

Shown on the map at 51.504°, -0.128°.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched three homemade mortar shells at 10 Downing Street, London, the headquarters of the British government, on 7 February 1991. The goal was to assassinate Prime Minister John Major and his war cabinet, who were meeting to discuss the Gulf War. One of the 140 pound (64 kg) mortar shells exploded in the back garden of Number 10, a few yards from the Cabinet Office. Due to the presence of bomb-resistant windows, none of the cabinet were hurt, though four other people received minor injuries, including two Metropolitan Police officers. The other two shells overshot Downing Street and landed on a green nearby.

Text from the Wikipedia article Downing Street mortar attack, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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