On this day, 34 years ago, on February 7, 1991 (December 23, 1990, the British Prime Minister's official residence at No. 10 Downing Street was shelled by the Irish Republican Army. No. 10 Downing Street after the explosion On February 7, 1991, the British Prime Minister's official residence, No. 10 Downing Street, was attacked by three mortar shells from the Irish Republican Army. In February 1991, the Irish Republican Army launched a series of terrorist attacks on London, including the most dramatic attack on the heart of the British government since the bombing of the Brighton Hotel during the Conservative Conference in 1984. Near 10 a.m. on February 7, a truck stopped at the corner of Guards Road and Whitehall Street, only 200 yards from Downing Street where the cabinet was meeting. The roof of the car opened and three mortar shells were fired at Downing Street. One of them landed in the back garden of Number 10 Downing Street, shattering the glass windows of the Cabinet Room of the Prime Minister's Office. The truck then burst into flames. John Major's calm demeanor under the artillery fire has been extensively reported. But as we all know, the attack occurred at a time when security precautions had been greatly strengthened in anticipation of terrorist attacks from Iraq and its allies, raising the serious issue of the vulnerability of government institutions to attack. Starting from its recent strategy of launching attacks on British soil, the Irish Republican Army took action and planted bombs at several stations on London's main railway line a few days later. On the early morning of February 18, just after the rush hour, a bomb exploded at Victoria Station, killing one person and injuring many others. A similar bomb exploded again at Paddington Station, but no one was injured.