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Terrorism?
This is a brutal 'eye for an eye' crime. The terrorism will come from the
authorties.
That's
certainly true for Lauren Collins, who saw the gore up close.
….
Brutal, fatal cleaver assault in London called a terrorist attack
CNN,
22
May, 2013
They
first hit the man, thought to be a British soldier, with a car in
broad daylight. Then the two attackers hacked him to death and dumped
his body in the middle of a southeastern London road.
As
the victim -- dressed in what appeared to be a T-shirt for Help for
Heroes, a charity that helps military veterans -- lay prone, one of
the two attackers found a camera.
"We
swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you," said a
meat-cleaver-wielding man with bloody hands, speaking in what seems
to be a London accent.
"The
only reasons we killed this man this is because Muslims are dying
daily," he added, in video aired by CNN affiliate ITN. "This
British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth."
One
witness, Michael Atlee, described the gruesome, frenzied and
ultimately fatal sequence of events Wednesday afternoon as "a
bloody mess."
British
Prime David Cameron called it a terrorist attack.
"We
will never buckle to terror," Cameron wrote on Twitter.
Home
Secretary Theresa May offered a similar assessment Wednesday night of
the situation and a similar message of resolve.
Cameron: Strong
indication of terrorism London suspects shot, taken to hospital
Deadly attack near London barracks London attack: Eyewitness heard
gunshots
"We
have seen terrorism on the streets of Britain before, and we have
always stood against it," she said. "Despicable acts like
this will not go unpunished."
'They
were just animals'
A
witness, who identified himself only as James, told London's LBC 97.3
radio station that he saw two men standing by the victim, who was on
the ground in the British capital's Woolwich neighborhood.
At
first James thought they were trying to help the man. But then he saw
two meat cleavers, like a butcher would have.
"They
were hacking at this poor guy, literally," he told the radio
station, as if they were trying to remove his organs.
"These
two guys were crazed. They were just not there. They were just
animals."
Afterward,
the men appeared to want to be filmed, with one of the attackers
going over to a bus and asking people to take photos of him as if he
wanted to be on TV.
In
video obtained by British tabloid newspaper The Sun, a
cleaver-wielding man apologized to women who had witnessed the
attack, then quickly added "but in our lands our women have to
see the same."
"You
people will never be safe," he said. "Remove your
government. They don't care about you. You think David Cameron is
going to get caught in the street when we start busting our guns?
"...
Get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so we can all
live in peace."
Police
responded to the assault soon after it was reported at 2:20 p.m.
(9:20 a.m. ET). They included armed members of a firearms unit, even
though British police typically don't carry guns, because "early
reports" indicated the attackers had "weapons,"
Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchworth said.
The
suspects rushed at the arriving officers before being shot, James
told the radio station.
"They
have both been taken to separate London hospitals and are receiving
treatment for their injuries," Letchworth said.
Terrorism analyst on
soldier killing Analyst: Soldier killing treated seriously Cell phone
video of London attack scene Could London killing inspire other
attacks?
Centuries-old
barracks part of London neighborhood
Cameron
-- who was in France at the time of the incident but headed back home
promptly -- declined to confirm if the man killed was a serving
soldier, while Britain's Defense Ministry said it was investigating
to see whether that's the case.
Yet
Nick Raynsford, a member of Parliament, told CNN that the victim is
believed to be a serving soldier who was based at a nearby barracks.
The
soldier had apparently been on duty in central London and was
returning to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich when he was
attacked, Raynsford said.
The
MP described Woolwich as a mixed, multicultural area, adding that
troops stationed at the centuries-old military barracks there have a
close relationship with locals.
Even
as they worked to piece together what happened and why, British
authorities beefed up security Wednesday around Woolwich and all
military barracks in London, according to a British government
source.
And
British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said the killing was a "very
shocking incident" and that the United Kingdom takes the safety
of its troops "very seriously," as he headed into Wednesday
night to a meeting of the country's civil emergency committee known
as COBRA.
One
suspect's video statement justifying the attack spurred the Muslim
Council of Britain to issue a strong statement condemning what it
called "a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam,"
as well as to urge Muslim and non-Muslims alike "to come
together in solidarity to ensure the forces of hatred do not
prevail."
The
bloodshed spurred swift condemnations elsewhere in Britain as well --
from a "concerned" Queen Elizabeth II, to London Mayor
Boris Johnson's description of a "sickening deluded and
unforgiveable act of violence," to Labour Party leader Ed
Miliband's prediction that the "whole country will be
horrified."
"I
still am quite shaken at what I've seen," she told CNN. "I've
seen a victim of an awful attack, and I've seen a body of a young
man."
Far-right
EDL clash with police in Woolwich after attack
Clashes
erupt between police and members of the English Defence League in
Woolwich, south east London, following the street killing of a man
believed to be a serving soldier
22
May, 2013
English
Defence League leader "Tommy Robinson" (pictured below)
addressed around 60 to 100 protesters who went to Woolwich after the
apparent killing of a British soldier by two men on Wednesday.
Running
battles erupted in the streets with youths and EDL activists in
balaclavas throwing rocks at riot police. Some wore paramilitary
dress.
Fifteen
police vans are at the scene and witnesses said police now "have
things under control".
The
dead man is believed to be a soldier who was wearing a Help for
Heroes T-shirt when he was ambushed in the street and attacked with
knives and a meat cleaver.
The
"politically motivated" attack was carried out by two men -
who were later shot by police. An eyewitness said the men claimed it
was a "message to the British government".
'Barbaric'
David
Cameron is returning early from Paris because of the attacks and
subsequent trouble.
Earlier
said that Britain has faced terror attacks such as the one in
Woolwich before and added: "We will never buckle in the face of
it."
Local
MP Nick Raynsford told reporters the victim was a "serving
soldier".
The
Royal Artillery Barracks are in Woolwich, not far from where the
attack took place.
Home
Secretary Theresa May said that security has been stepped up at army
barracks across London.
She
confirmed that she has been briefed by the head of the MI5 on the
"sickening and barbaric" incident
Woolwich
is on edge, people ran in terror from EDL
130
RETWEETS 5
FAVORITES
Police
operation stretched by EDL demo across most of Woolwich now.
52
RETWEETS 2
FAVORITES
Tommy
Robinson speaks pic.twitter.com/w4PZjaMbKl
22
RETWEETS 6
FAVORITES
Cops
surrounding square, Edl milling about spoiling for a fight,
helicopter up and scene of terror attack up road
pic.twitter.com/Jhu0YUMx0F
41
RETWEETS 4
FAVORITES
Police
restore order, Edl still wearing balaclavas but not throwing stones
anymore pic.twitter.com/yAbg4Uwv2s
50
RETWEETS
Arrests
after mosque attacks
Two
men have been arrested after separate attacks on mosques following
the terrorist incident in Woolwich.
ITV,
22
May, 2013
A
43-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of attempted arson after
reportedly walking into a mosque with a knife in Braintree, Essex.
Local
MP Brooks Newmark tweeted:
Just
met with leaders of local mosque in Braintree which was attacked this
evening. Thanked local police for their swift response.
FROM
@TWEETBROOKS ON TWITTER: (about 2 hours ago)
Essex
Police confirmed a 43-year-old from Braintree had been arrested on
suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and attempted arson
after the incident.
Meanwhile
police in Kent were called to reports of criminal damage at a mosque
in Canterbury Street, Gillingham.
A
spokesman said a man is in custody on suspicion of
racially-aggravated criminal damage.
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