Naman Shrestha
In July 2005, London’s transport network became a target for terrorist bombings as a group of suicide bombers packed explosives in their bags and attacked several sites across the capital of the United Kingdom. The attacks led to the deaths of dozens of innocent people, making it one of the most devastating terror attacks in the nation. Besides focusing on the 7/7 bombings, Netflix’s ‘Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers’ also delves deep into the attempted bombings on 21/7 and the manhunt that ensued. One of the failed bombers was Hussain Osman, who was eventually tracked down by the authorities and brought to justice.
Hussain Osman Attempted to Detonate an Explosive Inside His Rucksack
Hamdi Adus Isaac was born on July 27, 1978, in Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa region of the African continent. According to reports, he was also referred to as Hussain Osman or Osman Hussain. He was proficient in Arabic and Harari and could easily hold conversations in either. Despite originally hailing from Ethiopia, Hamdi eventually became a naturalized British citizen, meaning he moved to the UK at the age of seven and gained citizenship through a legal process. Details about his early days, educational background, and family are not public knowledge. However, we do know that he married Yeshshiemebet Girma, a while before the tragic bombing in 2005. Just like Hussain, she was an Ethiopian native. She was reportedly born in 1977 and had at least one brother based in Rome, Italy, as well as a sister, Mulumebet Girma, in England.
Following their marriage, Hussain and Yeshshiemebet settled in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, particularly in the Stockwell district in South London. Over the years, they welcomed three kids into their lives. Hussain was known to have a keen interest in radical extremism, so much so that he even took one of his sons to a training camp in Cumbria. There, he crossed paths with four men, with whom he would plot the 21/7 bombings. On July 21, 2005, a couple of weeks after the bombing of 7/7, Hussain Osman, alongside Ismail Abdulrahman, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, and Ramzi Mohammed, reportedly tried to replicate the terror attacks but failed as their bombs failed to detonate. All of them fled the respective scenes where they planned to carry out the bombings. One of Hussain’s friends provided him with a safe house between July 23 and July 26.
Hussain Osman Was Helped by His Family Members to Escape the UK
By then, he had made a plan to escape to Rome, Italy, with the help of his wife, Yeshshiemebet Girma, and brother, Abdul Sherif. Girma reportedly not only helped her husband escape the nation, but also kept the police in the dark while they were investigating the case. Moreover, as per the investigators, she was aware of the bombing plot and could have stopped it. A few days later, the police tracked Hussain down in Rome, Italy, where he had been staying at his brother-in-law’s apartment. On July 29, 2005, he was taken into custody without any struggle as he was unexpectedly confronted by the police. Following the arrest, Hussain was extradited to the United Kingdom in September of the same year and charged with multiple counts of attempted murder.
Hussain admitted to being one of the failed bombers of July 21, but claimed that the bombing or hurting people was never the plan. He also told the authorities that his rucksack didn’t have any bomb inside it on July 21, just some flour and a detonator for making a loud popping sound. As per his accounts, it was all just an attention-grabbing act to draw people’s attention to the Iraq War. The plan came to fruition after he reportedly watched videos of war-torn Iraq. He told CNN, “I am against war. I’ve marched in peace rallies and nobody listened to me. I never thought of killing people.” Calling it a necessary act, he added, “There was a feeling of hatred and conviction that it was necessary to give signal — to do something.” He also denied being linked with Al-Qaeda or the suicide bombers of July 7, 2005.
Hussain Osman is Currently Serving His Sentence
Hussain Osman stood trial alongside five other accomplices in 2007. On July 9, he was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to life in prison for trying to detonate explosives inside an underground train on July 21, 2005. Along with the other convicts, he filed a motion to have his conviction overturned. However, the Court of Appeal judges denied their requests in April 2008. A few months later, on June 11, his wife, Germi, was also convicted of withholding information from the police and assisting an offender. During her trial, she claimed that she and Hussain were not married. Moreover, she told the jury that they didn’t live together, so she had little to no idea about his plan. The following day, she was sentenced to 15 years. Upon filing an appeal, her sentence was reduced to 11 years. As of today, Hussain Osman is likely incarcerated at a prison facility in the United Kingdom.
Read More: Muktar Said Ibrahim: Where is the 7/7 Failed Bomber Now?
