Since 1970 in some parts of London, police intervention in street crimes often has been met by crowd-gathering and violence against police. In addition, there have been violent confrontations between groups of left- and right-wing demonstrators and a resurgence in the incidence of civil disobedience, often accompanied by violence. At the other end of the spectrum, there has been a continuing pattern of bombings, assasination, and hostage-taking. Throughout the 1970's, there was a high incidence of bombings of Middle Eastern and Irish origins. Some of the more spectacular incidents included an armed attack and hostage-taking in a central London building and the seizure of the Iranian embassy.