A man thought to be a serving British soldier was killed by two armed
men in a frenzied attack on a London street Wednesday, in what the
government is treating as a suspected act of terrorism.
Witnesses told of a
gruesome scene in which the man was hit by a car, then hacked with
cleavers and his body dumped in the middle of the road in Woolwich, southeast London.
The two suspects in the
killing were injured in a confrontation with police and have been taken
to two hospitals, where they are being treated.
CNN affiliate ITN aired a
video showing a man with bloody hands and holding a meat cleaver, who
says, "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you."
The man, who is black and
appears to have a London accent, carries on: "The only reasons we
killed this man this is because Muslims are dying daily. This British
soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth.
"We apologize that women
had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same.
You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don't care
about you." Those statements spurred
the Muslim Council of Britain to issue a strong statement to condemn the
attack as "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."
In another video --
obtained by the British tabloid newspaper The Sun and apparently shot in
the same place around the same time -- the meat-cleaver-wielding
suspect apologized to women who'd witnessed the attack, before quickly
adding "but in our lands our women have to see the same." "You people will never
be safe," the man said. "Remove your government. They don't care about
you. You think (Prime Minister) 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."
The victim is believed
to be a serving soldier who was based at a nearby barracks, Nick
Raynsford, a member of Parliament, told CNN.
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. Speaking in Paris, Prime
Minister David Cameron said there were "strong indications" that the
man's killing was a terrorist incident. He said he would be returning early from the official trip to handle the situation and will be back in London Wednesday night. "It is the most
appalling crime," he said, speaking alongside French President Francois
Hollande, who pledged solidarity with Britain in the face of terrorist
threats.
Cameron declined to
confirm whether the man killed was a serving soldier, while Britain's
defense ministry said it was investigating to see whether that's the
case. But the prime minister vowed the United Kingdom would stand firm
in the face of threats to its security and "will not buckle."
UK Home Secretary
Theresa May led a meeting of the country's civil emergency committee,
known as COBRA, on Wednesday evening, and Cameron will chair another
such meeting on Thursday.
Afterward, authorities increased security around Woolwich and all military barracks in London, a British government source said. British Defense
Secretary Philip Hammond said the killing was a "very shocking incident"
and that the UK takes the safety of its troops "very seriously," as he
headed into the COBRA meeting. London Mayor Boris
Johnson tweeted: "This afternoon's attack in Woolwich is a sickening
deluded and unforgivable act of violence. My thoughts are with the
victim and his family." That sentiment was
echoed by many others -- such as May, the home secretary, who described
it as "a sickening and barbaric attack"; a "concerned" Queen Elizabeth
II; and Labour Party leader Ed Millband, who predicted the "whole
country will be horrified" by what he called the "appalling events." Commander Simon
Letchworth told reporters in Woolwich that local officers had responded
when an assault was reported at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and a firearms unit
was called to the scene. British police do not usually carry firearms. "Two men, who we believe
from early reports to have been carrying weapons, were shot by police,"
he said. "They have both been taken to separate London hospitals and
are receiving treatment for their injuries."
Eyewitnesses have given gruesome details of the killing. One, Michael Atlee told
CNN he and friends heard gunshots and when they turned the corner saw a
pool of blood on the sidewalk and a trail of blood leading into the
road. "It just looked like a mess," Atlee said. "It just looked like a bloody mess." The man killed appeared to be wearing a T-shirt for Help for Heroes, a charity that helps military veterans, he said. Another witness, who
gave his name only as James, told London's LBC 97.3 radio station that
he saw two men standing by the victim. At first he thought they were trying to help the man but then 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." The men appeared to want
to be filmed, he said, saying that one of the attackers went over to a
bus and asked people to take photos of him as if he wanted to be on TV. He said the two men rushed at police when they arrived, at which point shots were fired and both men went down. Lauren Collins told CNN:
"I still am quite shaken at what I've seen -- I've seen a victim of an
awful attack, and I've seen a body of a young man."Another witness,
Woolwich Theatre owner Adrian Green, said the incident was "shocking"
but did not reflect the true nature of the area. Raynsford said the
military based at the centuries-old barracks had a close relationship
with the local community. Woolwich is a mixed, multicultural area, he
added.
