The UK will “never give in to terror or terrorism”, Prime Minister David Cameron has said, following the killing of a serving soldier in south-east London on Wednesday afternoon.
Two men were shot by police following the attack and remain under arrest in hospital – one in a serious condition.
One of the suspects is understood to be 28-year-old Muslim convert Michael Adebolajo, according to BBC sources.
Police have raided two addresses – one in Greenwich and one in Lincolnshire.
Shortly after the killing in Woolwich, one man – his hands covered in blood – was filmed by a passer-by, saying he carried out the attack because British soldiers killed Muslims every day.
Speaking outside Downing Street on Thursday, the prime minister said: “One of the best ways of defeating terrorism is to go about our normal lives.”
He said there was no justification in Islam for the attacks, which were “solely and purely” the responsibility of the individuals involved.
Across London there are 1,200 extra police officers on duty in response to the attacks, Assistant Commissioner Simon Byrne said.
Earlier officers forced their way into a flat and shattered the door frame as they raided an address believed to belong to one of the attackers on a Greenwich housing estate.
Neighbours said two sisters in their 30s, an older woman and a teenaged boy were taken away in a police van.
An address in Saxilby, Lincolnshire is also being searched in connection with the attack.
According to BBC sources, suspect Michael Adebolajo is understood to come from a devout Christian family but took up Islam after leaving college in 2001 (Adebolajo has never been to Nigeria before as he was born in the UK and carries the UK passport, sources told The Eagle Online).
He was described as “bright and witty” when he was at college.
Eyewitnesses said the soldier was attacked at 14:20 BST with knives and a cleaver in Artillery Place, off John Wilson Street – near Woolwich Barracks – by two men shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Great).
The men made no attempt to flee and encouraged people to take pictures of them and their victim.
In footage obtained by ITV News, one of the men was filmed wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.
“You think politicians are going to die?” he said. “No, it’s going to be the average guy – like you – and your children.
“So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so you can all live in peace.”
Another eyewitness said the police “didn’t even get a chance to get out of their car”.
“They just had to shoot him because he was just hurtling towards them,” Graham Wilders told the BBC. “And then the other one, with the handgun, lifted it up and obviously they shot him.”
This man was photographed brandishing a knife and speaking to a woman at the scene
In other developments:
The Metropolitan Police says police officers arrived within nine minutes of the first 999 call and armed officers were there within 14 minutes
There were two separate attacks on mosques on Wednesday evening- in Gillingham and Essex. Two men are under arrest
A blue vehicle was covered with a red tarpaulin and towed away from the scene – it is thought the victim may have been hit by the car before he was attacked.
Around 250 supporters of the English Defence League gathered in Woolwich and clashed with police
Temporary Ministry of Defence advice for armed forces personnel to “conceal” their uniforms has now been withdrawn
Flowers are being left by local people at Woolwich barracks, praising the soldier as a “fallen hero”
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said it would be wrong to blame the killing on either Islam or British foreign policy.
One of the suspects is in a serious condition while the other is also being treated for injuries. They are under armed guard in a London hospital.
One was pictured holding a knife and speaking to a woman at the scene.
The Daily Telegraph has spoken to the woman.
According to the paper, Cub Scout leader Ingrid Loyau-Kennett asked him: “Would you like to give me what you have in your hands?”
“He was covered with blood,” she said. “I thought I had better talk to him before he starts attacking somebody else.”
She says the suspect told her the dead man was a British soldier, adding: “I killed him because he kills Muslims over there and I am fed up that people kill Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The Muslim Council of Britain said the murder was “a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly”.
Ministers and others present at the Cobra meeting are understood to have commended the “strength and unity of response”.
“People across Britain, people in every community, I believe, will utterly condemn this attack,” Mr Cameron said in Paris on Wednesday night.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, MI5 director general Andrew Parker, Home Secretary Theresa May, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson were among those at Thursday morning’s Cobra meeting.
Meanwhile, armed forces personnel based in London and elsewhere have been told to be more vigilant.
That is on top of the extra precautions now being taken at London’s 10 or so main barracks.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said that, since British forces intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan, they and their families have been well aware they might be targets at home.
At least two plots by Islamist extremists to kill soldiers in the UK have been foiled in recent years.
BBC.
[youtube width=”500″ height=”300″]SXJKizfTqPA[/youtube]
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
