The bomb was in a grey Saab 9000 near the train station, restaurants and pubs on Uxbridge Road, which exploded shortly after midnight,[1] injuring seven people.

[2] The bomb was timed to target leaving karaoke pub-goers—but whilst most escaped injury, the explosion still caused significant property damage, estimated to be around £200,000.

The adjacent Ealing Broadway shopping centre was also damaged by flooding arising from the water main under the car bomb being ruptured.

[3] However, anti-terrorist detectives claimed that the attack was planned to be a massacre and to cause as much carnage as the Omagh bombing three years prior.

[5] The attack came months after the Real IRA bombed the BBC Television Centre 3 miles away—a local MP claimed that west London residents felt "cold fury".