{UAH} LONDON COULD TURN INTO A BEIRUT AND A HAVEN FOR GLOBAL TERROR
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5:51 AM |
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Counter terrorism police have made two fresh raids on addresses in east London in connection with Saturday's deadly terror attack in London.
The Metropolitan Police said officers entered properties in Newham and Barking at 4.15am on Monday and "a number" of people had been detained.
Searches were continuing at both addresses, police added.
Residents reported hearing "loud flash bangs and gunshots" in the early hours of Monday morning.
Terrorists brought carnage to the streets of Britain for the second time in as many weeks, killing seven and leaving 21 fighting for their lives.
Pedestrians were mowed down by a van on London Bridge before attackers stabbed a police officer and revellers around Borough Market with 12-inch knives.
One of the attackers shouted "this is for Allah" as he knifed a man near a pub - while the Islamic State militant group claimed its fighters carried out the attack.
The group is said to have urged extremists to run over civilians in a poster released over the weekend featuring a knife, handgun and lorry urging radicals to "gain benefit from Ramadan".
The three men, wearing fake suicide bomb vests, were shot dead by eight officers outside a pub after police opened fire with an "unprecedented" hail of 50 bullets, while a bystander was also shot.
Officers say they know the identities of the men who carried out the attack and will release the names "as soon as operationally possible".
Scotland Yard said seven women and five men aged between 19 and 60 were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Barking on Sunday. A 55-year-old man was later released without charge.
A vigil will be held on Monday evening near London Bridge in honour of the victims of the attack, which took place at around 10pm, while a minute's silence will take place at 11am on Tuesday.
Timeline | How events in London unfolded
The first victim of the attack has been named as Canadian national Christine Archibald, who worked in a homeless shelter until she moved to Europe to be with her fiance.
Network Rail said London Bridge rail and London Underground stations reopened at 5am but the rail station will be exit only.
People from around the world were caught up as hundreds cowered in pubs and restaurants, barricading themselves inside as the attackers stalked the streets.
At a glance | Theresa May's four-point plan to defeat terror
Tales of heroism emerged in the aftermath, with one British Transport Police officer taking on the trio armed only with his baton before being stabbed in the head, face and leg.
An off-duty Metropolitan Police officer was also injured after he tackled the men.
Forty-eight people were left in hospital, 21 critically injured.
As counter-terrorism police units and security services launched a huge investigation for the third time in a matter of weeks, officers arrested a dozen people in raids on flats in Barking, east London, where residents said they believed one of the terrorists may have lived.
Two suspects were also detained in East Ham.
Key articles | London terror attacks
Doctor hopes 'everyone will make a full recovery'
Dr Malik Ramadhan consultant in charge of A&E at the Royal London Hospital said the 12 patients rushed there in the wake of the terror attack were expected to recover.
"From last night everyone who was brought to the hospital was recovering," he said. "Our expectation is that everyone will make a full recovery.
"There were gunshot wounds, three or four stabbings and the rest were presumably hit by the van. Everyone has severe injuries."
Dr Ramadhan was cycling home from work on Saturday night when he saw convoys of emergency vehicles heading into Central London.
Sensing something had happened, he turned back to help. "This is a main trauma centre and has a plan for dealing with mass casualty events," he added.
"We executed that plan and it worked really well. "I know that there were lots of concerns on scene about the gun shots and how many perpetrators there were.
"The people brought to the Royal London were brought in very quickly and treated very quickly."
Off-duty police officer was 'utterly heroic'
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick is appearing on TV channels right now.
She has described an off-duty police officer injured during the Borough Market terror attack as "utterly heroic".
Interviewed on BBC Breakfast, she said:
This was a terrible appalling attack and all our thoughts are with those who have been affected.. but all that horror and anger and sorrow is of course mingled with huge admiration.
Just extraordinary amounts of courage shown... I simply pay tribute to them all.
We do have a Metropolitan Police officer injured who was unarmed. I met his family in the middle of Saturday night into Sunday morning.
He was there off duty, he had finished a day's work, he was having a drink with friends in the market and he witnessed the attack and witnessed members of the public and indeed uniformed officers being very severely assaulted. My understanding is that without hesitation, wearing his normal clothes, he dived in and tried to assist.
He I'm afraid was severely injured but utterly heroic. Then members of the public stepped in and tried to assist him, stayed with him, performed first aid on him and then another plain clothed officer arrived and the members of the public stayed with him as they drove him to hospital in the back of a police car. He is in hospital and in a critical condition... I'm immensely proud of him and what he did.
On Sky News Commissioner Dick said police believe they know the identity of the attackers and that the high priority is to try and understand if they are working with anyone else.
Cressida Dick on Sky NewsCredit: SKY NEWS
We have faced a terrorist threat throughout my life, that threat changes and morphs and we will change and adapt for what appears to be a new reality for us.
Since 2013, we've foiled I think 18 plots, we arrest about a person a day and have been for some time in relation to counter terrorism, we have very good intelligence... I understand people will be concerned and all I can say is we will be doing everything in our power and we will be stepped up a gear.
Cement blocks protect the pavement in Westminster
Cement blocks protecting the pavement at Westminster this morning pic.twitter.com/eLlFBez3oK — Stephanie Boland (@stephanieboland) June 5, 2017 |
Sajid Javid: Muslims need to do more to tackle extremism
The communities secretary wrote in The Times:
Speaking as a Muslim myself, we need to ask ourselves searching questions … There's no avoiding the fact that these people think they are Muslims. They identify as Muslims.
And they carry out their attacks – ignorantly, offensively – in the name of Islam. That's why, although we all share the responsibility for tackling terrorism, there's a special, unique burden on the Muslim community …
We need them to set off on the path to peace rather than the road to war. We need to offer not just a counternarrative, which rebuts the extremists, but a positive and self-confident narrative that promotes pluralistic, British values – and their compatibility with an Islamic life.
And that message can best come from within the Muslim community.
Police know the identity of the attackers
But the information is not yet being released to the public.
The Metropolitan Police said their names would be released "as soon as operationally possible".
Sadiq Khan to lead vigil for London terror attack victims
The Mayor of London is due to lead a vigil at 6pm today.
The service will be in in Potters Fields Park, near City Hall and he will be joined by senior Met officers, paramedics, fire crews and community leaders.
There will be a minute's silence across London at 6.20pm.
We are all shocked and angry today - but this is our city. We will never let these cowards win and we will never be cowed by terrorism. pic.twitter.com/kcosumkdCR — Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 4, 2017 |
Met Police confirm Dagenham raids
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed a police operation was underway in the area.
Police vehicles have been pictured parked outside the Ship and Shovel pub in Barking.
This morning residents heard gunshots at 4.15am as Officers stormed the addresses in Barking and Newham.
They have confirmed that a "number" of arrests have been made.
According to police, searches continue at both addresses.
Spanish Red Cross put out plea for missing person
James Badcock writes from Madrid:
A Spaniard is feared to be among the victims of Saturday night's terrorist attack after his friends say that he confronted a knife-wielding assailant and was not seen again.
Ignacio Echeverría, a 39-year-old resident of London, has not been traced by his family since he was on his way home after skating in a park with his friends when they saw one of the terrorists stabbing a woman near Borough Market.
According to Europa Press, Mr Echeverría's friends said that he confronted the assailant and the next time they saw him he was lying on the pavement. Since then, neither the family nor his friends have been able to contact him or find him in hospitals, despite having reported the situation to the Spanish consulate, the police, the hospitals in the area and HSBC, Mr Echeverría's employer.
Echeverría's family said that he was probably not carrying any ID documents as he had been returning home from playing sport. They said he is around five feet, nine inches and was wearing jeans, black Vans shoes and a dark sweater. He has a scar above an eyebrow, close to the hairline.
Mr Echeverría's sister, who also lives in London, has been visiting local hospitals in search of her brother.
Se busca a Ignacio Echeverría, vecino de #Las Rozas,desaparecido ayer en Londres. Se cree que estaba en la zona de los atentados. pic.twitter.com/ItsC445XxB — Emergencias CREM (@emergenciasCREM) June 4, 2017 |
'Last night in London my baby brother lost the love of his life': Family and friends of first victim speak out
The sister of Tyler Ferguson, Chrissy Archibald's fiance, has written a heartbreaking account of what happened.
She said: "I can't breath. You hear these things so often but it doesn't seem real. Last night in London my baby brother lost the love of his life on the London bridge.
"In a split second his entire life was ripped away from him. Hearing his painful sobs on the phone while he's alone trying to deal with this tears me apart. I have no words. If you know Tyler, please be there for him now, and later when what happened sinks in, he's going to need us all."
Police raid homes in Dagenham
Neighbours have spoken of hearing gunshots in Dagenham after officers searched two addresses and 'detained a number of people' in connection with the London Bridge terror attack.
One witness told the Daily Mail he heard an "extremely loud bang at 4am followed by multiple gunshots" off the A13 in Dagenham, east London.
He said: "It was as if my ear was right next to a car backfiring. It was loud enough to wake everyone up at 4am."
It is thought that a quarter-mile stretch of the A13 was closed off during the raid.
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