"The person who carried out the London attack... was a fighter from the Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition countries," the ISIS statement read
Floral tributes paid at London Bridge where an attack on Friday led to the death of two people. Pic/AFP
London: The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the London Bridge attack in which two people were killed, saying the UK-born attacker, who wanted to set up a terrorist training camp in the garb of a madrassa in his ancestral region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was one of its fighters.
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The group claimed the responsibility for Usman Khan's knife rampage on the streets of London on Friday, which killed two and injured three people, via its Amaq news agency in a post on Saturday that was published on the TamTam and Telegram app.
"The person who carried out the London attack... was a fighter from the Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition countries," the ISIS statement read.
The news emerged as former schoolmates of the 28-year-old terrorist, who was shot dead by armed police officers, revealed he had been seen preaching under the ISIS flag as a young teenager after he dropped out of school in Stoke-on-Trent in central England — where his family settled many years ago after moving from PoK.
"It is vital that the empty ideology of terror is rejected by all of us and that communities come together side-by-side to ensure that those seeking to divide us will never succeed," said Scotland Yard's Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu.
"As a precaution, we have enhanced police patrols across London of both armed and unarmed officers. The public can expect to see an increased police presence throughout the weekend as colleagues from the Metropolitan, City of London and British Transport police carry out those patrols," he said.
Blame game begins over attacker's release
Britain's political leaders are sparring over who is responsible for the early release of a convicted extremist, Usman Khan, who launched a stabbing attack in central London that left two dead. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday blamed Khan's freedom on changes in sentencing rules made by the last Labour Party government before Johnson's Conservatives took power in 2010. He promised to toughen sentencing laws. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Conservatives of trying to provide security "on
the cheap".
Queen thanks 'selfless bystanders who put their lives at risk'
Queen Elizabeth II has commended the heroism of the bystanders who helped curtail a deadly terror attack at the London Bridge. In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, the Queen expressed her "enduring thanks to the police and emergency services, as well as the brave individuals who put their own lives at risk to selflessly help and protect others." The intervention of several members of the public appears to have stopped the attack from being far worse as the attacker was seen running onto London Bridge with a large knife in his hands. Footage shared on social media shows three individuals pinning the attacker to the ground. Khan was shot dead by the police who reached the site of the incident soon after.
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