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The 'perfectly normal' Leeds student who murdered 13 as youngest London 7/7 suicide bomber - Leeds Live

Published 5 days ago5 minute read

He will go down in history as the youngest of the four home-grown terrorists who killed 52 people killed in the London 7/7 suicide bombings.

But before he became responsible for murdering 13 people when he detonated a bomb on a London Bus in Tavistock Square, he was a 'perfectly normal' teenager. To this day, his acquaintances, family and friends still wonder what made an otherwise fairly ordinary boy from Leeds decide to help commit one of the UK's deadliest terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005.

At the time of the attacks nearly 20 years ago, Hussain lived with his brother Imran, 24, and sister-in-law, Shazia, in Colenso Mount, Holbeck. It was understood to police investigating the attack at the time that the family were close, with several other members living nearby.

In September 1998, Hussain started his secondary education at the now-merged South Leeds High School. He was a member of the Holbeck Hornets football team and the local cricket team. Speaking with the Yorkshire Post in 2008, former headteacher of High Colin Bell said: "He was a perfectly normal student."

The 7/7 bombers, including Hasib Hussain (labelled number 1) (Image: July7 Inquests/PA Wire)

Yet - in spite of his wallflower behaviour - Hussain managed to befriend soon-to-be accomplices Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer in the later half of 2003. The trio frequently attended Stratford Street Mosque in Beeston, and were also associated with the Hamara Youth Access Point, a drop-in centre for teens. It is believed these meetings were the origin of the group’s plans for a suicide bombing.

By 2004, it appeared that Hussain was fully indoctrinated into Khan's jihadist cause - after a slow-burning period of increasingly radical beliefs, spurred on by his new found inner-circle of Khan and Tanweer.

Prior to the bombings, Hussain told his parents that he was ‘just visiting friend’s’ - little did they know that Hussain was about to assist in one of the most devastating attacks London had ever seen.

Before Hussain went to London with Khan and Tanweer, all three men had travelled to 18 Alexandra Grove, Hyde Park, Leeds - where the homemade explosives were made. Refrigerated in a box to maintain stability overnight, they travelled towards Luton railway station the next morning.

There, they were joined by Germaine Lindsay - the fourth bomber. The group then made their way towards King's Cross station at around 7.20am, on the morning of July 7, 2005.

CCTV of the four London bombers arriving at Luton train station at 7.21am on Thursday July 7, 2005. The image shows from left to right Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay (dark cap), Mohammed Sidique Khan (light cap) and Shahzad Tanweer. Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

CCTV of the four London bombers arriving at Luton train station at 7.21am on Thursday July 7, 2005. The image shows from left to right Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay (dark cap), Mohammed Sidique Khan (light cap) and Shahzad Tanweer. Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

CCTV caught the group arriving at King's Cross station around 8.23am, before they split off. It is believed that Hussain had intended to take a train, like the other bombers, but the Northern line train was temporarily suspended - so Hussain left the London Underground system.

He was then captured on CCTV in a Boots store on the concourse of King's Cross after the other bombs had gone off. Mobile phone records collected by police show the teenager had tried to telephone the other bombers - unaware that all three had already been killed by their own suicide bombs.

About 50 minutes after the other bombs had detonated, Hussain appears to have boarded the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square, where his explosion killed himself along with 13 other people. His body was later identified by a driving licence and credit cards found on his person.

Hussain's family first realised something was wrong within hours of the blast that killed him and 12 other passengers on the bus after he did not respond to his mobile.

In a statement given to the BBC, his family later said Hussain had been "a loving and normal young man who gave (them) no concern.” The family said: "We had no knowledge of his activities and, had we done, we would have done everything in our power to stop him."

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It is still unclear what led Hussain to join Khan and Tanweer and Lindsay - an unexplainable radicalisation appears to be the only true motive.

Explored in detail by insider accounts and never-seen-before footage, Netflix’s latest documentary tells the story of the 7/7 bombings on London's transport network in 2005 - and its explosive aftermath.

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