2018 Leicester explosion
| 2018 Leicester explosion | |
|---|---|
Żabka convenience store. 25 February 2018 | |
| Location | Hinckley Road, Leicester, United Kingdom |
| Date | 25 February 2018 |
Attack type | Arson |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Injured | 2 serious / 3 minor |
| Perpetrators | Aram Kurd Hawkar Hassan Arkan Ali |
| Motive | Insurance fraud |
| Convictions | Murder, Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation |
The 2018 Leicester explosion occurred shortly after 19:00 GMT on 25 February 2018, on the A47 Hinckley Road in Leicester. It destroyed the Żabka convenience store and the two-storey flat above it. Five people were killed and a further five others were injured, two of them seriously. Shortly after the explosion, Leicestershire Police declared a major incident, closing off Carlisle Street and parts of Hinckley Road in the immediate aftermath.
The explosion was caused by arson, carried out in order to facilitate a fraudulent insurance claim. Aram Kurd, Hawkar Hassan and Arkan Ali, who are Iraqi Kurds, were convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and sentenced to life imprisonment. Viktorija Ijevleva, the girlfriend of Arkan Ali, was also involved in the planning of the insurance fraud but died in the explosion.