London Bridge Attack
Seven people were killed in central London when three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and launched a knife attack in Borough Market on Saturday night. The attackers were shot dead by officers in what police have declared to be a terror attack. Here is what we know so far. Police said that the attack began at 21:58 BST on Saturday when a van drove on to London Bridge from the north side.
Updates on the Attack
It mounted the pavement and hit several people, before crashing near the Barrowboy and Banker pub at the southern end of the bridge. Three men got out, armed with knives, and ran the short distance to Borough Market where they stabbed several people. Armed police and ambulances were called at 22:08. Eyewitnesses spoke of attackers targeting people in pubs and restaurants. Some people tried to fight them off by throwing chairs and glasses. As the area was cordoned off, police shouted at members of the public to run or hide.
Aftermath
The three attackers were shot dead by police within eight minutes of the first call. The deputy chairwoman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Sarah Green, confirmed that 46 shots had been fired by eight police officers - three officers from City of London Police and five from the Metropolitan Police. A member of the public was also shot during the operation and was taken to hospital. The so-called Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack.
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The Terrorists
Two of the attackers were named by police as Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old British citizen, born in Pakistan, and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan - and also used the name Rachid Elkhdar. Butt worked in an administrative role for Auriga Holdings - which manages Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets - and he had also worked for London Underground for just under six months as a trainee customer services assistant, before leaving in October 2016. He became known to the police and MI5 in the summer of 2015 and an investigation was opened into his behaviour after concerns reached counter-terrorism officers. One man called the anti-terrorism hotline, while a woman went to the local police station because she was scared Butt was trying to radicalise her children. However, the Met said there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned, meaning the investigation had been "prioritised accordingly". Butt also once featured in a Channel 4 documentary about Islamist extremists with links to the jailed preacher Anjem Choudary, and appeared arguing with police on the street. Sources in Dublin said Redouane was understood to have been carrying an identification card issued in the Republic of Ireland when he was shot dead, the Press Association reported. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he had been not a member of a "small group" being monitored by Irish police in respect of radicalisation.
