Iranian embassy siege, 1980 Photograph.

Format:

Image

Contributor:

Rowntree, Bill, photographer.

Mirrorpix, owner.

Language:

No linguistic content

Subjects (All):

Embassy takeovers--England--London--History--20th century.

Embassy takeovers.

England--London.

Genre:

Photographs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 photograph).

Production:

[London] : Daily Mirror, Bill Rowntree, 1980.

Summary:

Archival caption: The 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege took place between 30th April and 5th May 1980, when six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London, taking 26 people hostage, mostly embassy staff, but also several visitors as well as a police officer who had been guarding the embassy. By the sixth day of the siege the gunmen had become increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress in meeting their demands. That evening, they killed one of the hostages and threw his body out of the embassy. As a result, the government ordered the Special Air Service (SAS), a special forces regiment of the British Army, to conduct an assault, Operation Nimrod to rescue the remaining hostages. Shortly afterwards, SAS soldiers abseiled from the roof of the building and forced entry through the windows. During the 17-minute raid, they rescued all but one of the remaining hostages, and killed five of the six hostage-takers. Out of the embassy comes the first body, that of a man whose arm hangs limply from a stretcher, carried by plain clothes police officer Michael Bird (front).

Notes:

Description based on publisher-supplied metadata (viewed February 28, 2024).

Reference: 01178209.