Police described the central London attack as a "terrorist" incident with "multiple casualties".
New Delhi:
Twelve people have been arrested in Barking, in east London, in connection with yesterday's attack at London Bridge that left seven people dead and injured 47 people. The three men responsible for the attack were "radical Islamist terrorists", Britain's interior minister Amber Rudd said. Yesterday, as Londoners were enjoying a relaxed Saturday, the attackers had struck. Their speeding van rammed a number of pedestrians at the London bridge. Three men then got off at the nearby bustling Borough Market and went on a stabbing spree before being shot down.
Here are the top 10 updates on the London terror attack:
- The attack comes days before the general elections in the UK. British Prime Minister Theresa May said the campaigning which has been stopped in its aftermath, will resume on Monday and the elections will be held on Thursday as scheduled.
- "We believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face," Theresa May said. While the attacks are not linked in terms of planning and execution, they are linked in the sense that the attackers are "copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack," she added.
- Following the London attack, the Birmingham hotel where the Indian cricket team is staying for the One Day Internationals with Pakistan is under lockdown as a precautionary measure. London Bridge Station is closed and the authorities are asking people to avoid the area. Police have asked locals and tourists to avoid London Bridge and Borough Market.
- The attack came minutes after the end of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus, in an area teeming with bars where many fans were watching the football on television.
- The first reports of the vehicle collision on London Bridge came in at 10:08 pm local time. A second incident of multiple stabbing in the nearby Borough Market, towards the south end of London Bridge, was reported soon after. Police said the attackers wore fake explosive vests.
- Seven people died and 48 people were taken to various hospitals. Among the injured was a policeman who was among the first to reach the scene. He was stabbed in the face and leg.
- Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, "I am in close contact with the Met Commissioner and senior officers and am being kept updated on all developments."
- While Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks, the Indian High Commission in London shared the number that any Indians affected in the attacks could use to reach the High Commission. The number is 02076323035.
- US President Donald Trump, who had promised all possible help, however criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying, "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"
- Several terror attacks have taken place across the UK over the last few months. Suicide attacks at the Brussels airport killed 32 people last year. In 2015, ISIS-linked terrorists attacked a concert hall and other sites across Paris, killing 130 people. Islamic radicals have also used trucks to plow through crowds in Stockholm, Berlin and Nice, killing hundreds.
