London: Suspected Islamists rammed a van into a group of unsuspecting pedestrians and tourists on the London Bridge and later launched knife attacks at nearby pubs, killing seven people and injuring 48. Police shot dead all three suspects. At least 21 of the wounded, including two police officers, were reportedly in critical condition.
Police said 12 suspects have been arrested in connection with the terror attack. The Saturday night mayhem in the heart of London came less than a fortnight after a young British suicide bomber detonated a powerful bomb in the Manchester Arena just when an American concert had ended, killing 22 people and injuring more than 100.
It all began when a white transit-style van speeding toward the London Bridge Tube station drove into people including foreigners enjoying a pleasant weather around 10 pm, sending one man flying some 20 feet in the air.
In no time, four or five people were on the ground, dead or dying, witnesses told the media.
The vehicle continued to drive towards Borough Market, just south of the bridge, where three assailants got out and began stabbing civilians at a restaurant as well as police officers who tried to stop them, the BBC reported.
One of the attackers was seen wielding “a big knife” and attacking bystanders in the Borough Market whose pubs and restaurants were packed with people. (IANS)