LONDON – Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent Islamic rant to bystanders, leading Prime Minister David Cameron to cut short a diplomatic trip in Paris to deal with what he described as a likely terrorist attack.
If confirmed as an act of terror, it would mark the first fatality from such an attack in Britain since 52 people were killed in a series of four coordinated suicide bombings targeting London’s transit system on July 7, 2005. Both suspects in Wednesday’s attack– who made no attempt to escape and shouted statements at bystanders while they waited for authorities to arrive— were wounded by police while being taken into custody and were being treated at local hospitals. At least one of the men was in serious condition.
If confirmed as an act of terror, it would mark the first fatality from such an attack in Britain since 52 people were killed in a series of four coordinated suicide bombings targeting London’s transit system on July 7, 2005. Both suspects in Wednesday’s attack– who made no attempt to escape and shouted statements at bystanders while they waited for authorities to arrive— were wounded by police while being taken into custody and were being treated at local hospitals. At least one of the men was in serious condition.