UNITED KINGDOM - Bridge Attack

"Police identify two men behind London terrorist attacks" by Erica R.  Hendry, PBS NewsHour 6/5/2017

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Metropolitan police say they have identified two of the three attackers behind Saturday's terrorist attack.

Police said in a statement they believe Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, east London, were responsible for the attacks that killed seven and injured 48 on the London Bridge and Borough Market.

It was the third terrorist attack in the country in three months, occurring less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 and injured 116 at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.

Butt, 27, was a Pakistan-born British citizen who was known to the police.  But “there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned,” police said in a statement.

Redouane, 30, was believed to be Moroccan and Libyan; he also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, police said.  A third attacker has not been identified.

Police and counter-terrorism officers have arrested 12 people since Saturday night's attacks.  They've also searched six properties, officials said.

“The police and our partners are doing everything we can across the country to help prevent further attacks and protect the public from harm,” Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan led a vigil for victims of the attack Monday night in Potters Bridge Park, “to show the world that we stand united in the face of those who seek to harm us and our way of life.”

“We must defeat this threat.  Our values must prevail,” Khan wrote in an op-ed for the Evening Standard.  We should not jump to knee-jerk conclusions, but failing to act is simply not an option.

"U.K. police make arrests in bridge attack as politicians argue over security" PBS NewsHour 6/5/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Police raided an apartment complex and tire shop Monday in East London, detaining more people in the wake of Saturday's attack that killed seven.  Officials also named two of the attackers, who were shot dead minutes after driving a van into people and then stabbing others.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports on how the attack is playing into politics on both sides of the Atlantic.