Breaking News English

London bomber buys bomb parts from Amazon

London Subway - Level 0

Police said a man who bombed a London train bought the parts online. They said a refugee left the bomb on a crowded subway train. It exploded during rush hour at 8.20am. About 30 passengers had burns. Police said the bomb didn't work properly. It had knives, screws, glass and other dangerous things inside it.

The bomber bought many things from Amazon. He bought an explosive called TATP. It is very powerful. Police said the bomber wanted "maximum destruction". Reporters said Amazon's site showed visitors other things that could make bombs. Amazon said it will make sure its products are presented in a better way.

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

London Subway - Level 1

Police said a man who bombed a London subway train bought the parts online. Police think an 18-year-old refugee left the bomb on a packed commuter train during the rush hour. It exploded at Parsons Green station at 8.20am. About 30 passengers had burns to their face and body. Police said the bomb didn't work properly and that more people could have been hurt. The bomb had knives, screws, glass and other dangerous things inside it.

The bomber bought many of the ingredients from Amazon. One ingredient was an explosive called TATP. It is called "Mother of Satan" because of its power. Police said the bomber wanted "maximum destruction". Reporters were shocked that Amazon's site directed visitors to other things that could make bombs. Amazon said it would stop this happening. It is reviewing its website to make sure its products are presented in a better way.

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

London Subway - Level 2

Slowest

Police said a man who bombed a London subway train bought most of the bomb parts online. Police accused an 18-year-old Iraqi refugee of bombing a busy commuter train. The bomber left the bomb on a packed train during the rush hour. It exploded at Parsons Green station at 8.20am. About 30 passengers had burns to their face and body. Police said there would be more people hurt if the bomb had worked properly. It didn't detonate fully. Police said the bomb contained, "knives, screws, glass and similar items to increase the likelihood of death".

The bomber bought many of the ingredients for his bomb from Amazon. One ingredient was several hundred grams of an explosive called TATP. It is called "Mother of Satan" because it is so powerful. Police said the bomber wanted to create "maximum destruction". Reporters checked Amazon and were shocked to find that the site directed visitors to other things that could be used to make bombs. Amazon said it will stop this happening, saying: "In light of recent events, we are reviewing our website to ensure that all these products are presented in an appropriate [way]."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

London Subway - Level 3

U.K. police have said a man who put a bomb on a London subway train bought most of the parts for the bomb online. Police have accused an 18-year-old Iraqi refugee of planting the bomb on a busy commuter train on September 15. The bomber left his device on a packed subway carriage during the peak rush hour. The bomb exploded at Parsons Green subway station at 8.20am. It caused burns to the face and body of 30 passengers. Police said there would have been more casualties if the bomb had worked properly. It didn't detonate fully so there was less harm to humans than there could have been. Police said the bomb contained, "knives, screws, glass and similar items to increase the likelihood of death".

The bomber bought many of the ingredients for his device from the online shopping site Amazon. One of these ingredients was several hundred grams of an explosive called TATP. This is also called "Mother of Satan" because it is so powerful. Police said the bomber used it to create "maximum destruction". Reporters later checked Amazon for the ingredients and were shocked to find that the site directed them to other things that could be used to make bombs, in the "items frequently bought together" tab. Amazon said it will work to stop this happening. It said: "In light of recent events, we are reviewing our website to ensure that all these products are presented in an appropriate [way]."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

25 online activities    |    26-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson