6 killed, 20 injured in London attacks; 3 terrorists shot dead

Six people died and 20 were injured in the Saturday night terrorist attacks in the center of London, police said. Police shot dead three suspects.

The Metropolitan Police's head of counter-terrorism Mark Rowley said early Sunday that police believe all the attackers were killed but are conducting further investigation to make certain this is the case.
 
Rowley says the suspects were confronted and shot by police "within eight minutes of the first call."
 
Rowley says the three attackers were wearing what appeared to be suicide vests but they turned out to be hoaxes.
 
Police said they were called just after 10 p.m. (2100GMT) Saturday to reports of a vehicle hitting pedestrians on the bridge, which crosses the River Thames in central London.
 
Soon after, there were reported stabbings at nearby Borough Market.
 
The violence turned a summery Saturday night in an area packed with bars and restaurants into a scene of panic and chaos, with officers running through crowded streets screaming for people to flee and lifeboats drafted to help clear the area.
 
Prime Minister Theresa May said it was a potential act of terrorism and the Metropolitan Police force said it had declared the attacks as “terrorist incidents.”
 
The Metropolitan Police, which tweets at @metpoliceuk, said that the attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market had been “declared as terrorist incidents.”
The force advised people to avoid the areas “to allow the emergency services to deal with the ongoing incidents.”

The force tweeted a warning telling people in the area to run to safety, hide and then call police if it is safe to do so.
About two hours after the first reports of an incident, television images showed people walking away from the London Bridge area with their hands on their heads. Police tweeted that Londoners should “remain calm but be alert and vigilant.”

Nick Brandon of British Transport Police said the force had received reports of “multiple” casualties in an incident possibly involving a knife and a vehicle. He said he did not know how serious the injuries were.

Multiple witnesses reported a vehicle veering off the road and hitting several pedestrians; others also said they saw a man with a knife.

An eyewitness at the scene told Arab News that she had seen what looked like a man with his throat cut on London Bridge.

"We saw a man coming off the bridge with blood all over him and it looked like he had his throat slashed," the eyewitness said.

"He was holding his neck. Just been told by the police all the bridges are shut, we can't get back and so are trapped in the cordon. It also smells quite strongly of burning," the eyewitness added, requesting not to be named.

Nick Archer, who was in the London Bridge area, said  he came out of a bar and looked to his left and saw a man lying on the ground. He thought the person had been drinking, but then police vans flew by. 

Several witnesses said some victims also appeared to have stab wounds.

London’s Metropolitan Police said armed officers were at two scenes — on the bridge and the nearby market, a busy area of restaurants and bars.

Witnesses reported a vehicle hitting pedestrians and seeing injured people on the ground on the bridge. One, Holly Jones, told the BBC a white van veered off the road and struck as many as six people. She said she saw at least four or five people on the ground.

Another witness, Will Heaven, said he saw people who appeared to have been hit, and one being put into an ambulance.

“We saw injured people on the road, injured people on the pavement,” he told Sky News.

A man who gave only his first name, Ben, told BBC radio that he “saw a man in red with a large blade, at a guess 10 inches long, stabbing a man, about three times” near Borough Market.
 
Other witnesses reported seeing as many as three attackers with knives.
 
Gerard Vowls, 47, told The Guardian newspaper that he saw a woman being stabbed by three men at the south end of London Bridge. He said he threw chairs, glasses and bottles at the attackers in a bid to stop them.
 
“They kept coming to try to stab me . they were stabbing everyone. Evil, evil people,” he told the newspaper. “I want to know if this girl is still alive. I’ve been walking around for an hour and a half crying my eyes out. I don’t know what to do.
Transport for London said busy London Bridge station and two others were closed at the request of police.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said she was “in contact with officials and is being regularly updated.” Downing St. said she would chair a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee on Sunday.

The incident  comes less than three months after an attacker ran down people with a vehicle on Westminster Bridge, killing four, then stabbed a policeman to death outside Parliament.

On May 22, a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. After that attack, Britain’s official threat level from terrorism was raised to “critical,” meaning an attack may be imminent. Several days later it was lowered to “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.

Source: Arab News