Six people killed and 48 injured in terror incident in London; three attackers shot dead

Six people have been killed and at least 48 injured in a terror incident in London in which three male attackers were shot dead by police. A white van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at about 22:00 BST on Saturday, then three men got out and stabbed people in nearby Borough Market. Police said the three men were wearing fake bomb vests.

One of those hurt is a police officer who was stabbed after going to help. His injuries are not life-threatening.

The Conservatives, Labour and the SNP have suspended national general election campaigning and the prime minister is chairing a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee.

Theresa May described Saturday night's events as dreadful, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called them brutal and shocking.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners, but the capital remained the safest global city and Londoners would not be cowed by terrorism.

It is the third terror attack in the UK in three months following the car and knife attack in Westminster in March, which left five people dead, and the Manchester bombing less than two weeks ago, in which 22 people were killed.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said it was believed there were only three attackers involved and the explosive vests they were wearing were hoaxes. One social media user posted a photograph appearing to show an attacker lying on the ground outside a pub in the food market, with the fake vest visible.

Main developments: More than 80 medics were sent to the scene. The injured, some of them critical, are being treated in five London hospitals; The Met Police has set up a casualty bureau on 0800 096 1233 and 020 7158 0197 for people concerned about friends or relatives; Two Australian citizens have been directly impacted, says the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull; At least two French citizens have been injured, according to the French president's office, quoted by Reuters.

BBC reporter Holly Jones, who was on the bridge at the time of the attack, said the van was probably travelling at about 50 miles an hour.

He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people. He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind, Ms Jones told the BBC News channel.

Another eyewitness, Robbie, was sitting in a taxi opposite the Barrowboy and Banker pub on London Bridge.

I saw about 20 or 30 people rushing to get back into the pub and five seconds later a big white van came screeching down the pavement, he told BBC Radio 5 live.

Two or three people jumped out. Initially, I thought it was a road traffic incident and the people had jumped out to see if anyone was injured, but I could tell immediately, they looked very aggressive.

His friend Josh came out of the pub a few seconds later and saw people running up to the bridge from Borough Market.

A chap ran up and I heard him shout, 'He's got a knife, he's stabbing people.'

Another witness, Gerard, told the BBC: They were running up shouting, 'This is for Allah.' They stabbed this girl maybe 10 times, 15 times. She was going, 'Help me, help me.'

Gerard said he chased the attackers, who were running into pubs and bars, and threw bottles, chairs and other items to try to stop them. </s> At least six people were killed in an attack in central London on Saturday night, Scotland Yard said. At least three attackers are believed to been shot dead by the police. A van drove into people near the London Bridge on Saturday, days before the general election in the country. Incidents of stabbing were also reported at nearby Borough Market.

The police said that all the attackers involved in the incident had been killed, reported AP. “At least 20 casualties have been taken to six hospitals across London,” Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement. “The investigation is being led by the Counter Terrorism Command.”

A van driven by a man travelling at about “50 miles an hour” rammed into people, BBC reporter Holly Jones, who was present there at the time of the incident, said. “He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people,” she said. “He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind.”

Witnesses said that soon after the van incident on the London Bridge, a knife-wielding man started charging towards a bar packed with people, reported AFP. The police asked people to run to a place of safety and hide as the attackers may still be armed and in the area. The local administration is working with the rescue services to find people who may have fallen into the River Thames, reported Reuters.

The toll in the attack is not clear yet, however, multiple casualties are suspected, reported AFP. The police hasve yet to confirm the number of attackers involved in the incidents, but some reports said that two of them were killed in police firing. The police have cordoned off the area and ambulances have been brought in.

Rowley urged people who had filed the incident or had images to pass them on to the police by uploading them on www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the attack and said the incident is being treated as a “potential act of terrorism”. “Our thoughts are with those who are caught up in these dreadful events,” she said in statement.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan described the incident as a “horrific terrorist attack”. “We don’t yet know the full details, but this was deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night,” he said according to BBC.

United States President Donald offered help to the UK, tweeting, “We are with you. God bless!” he tweeted.

The incident comes two weeks after 22 people died in a suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester. In a similar incident in March 2017, a man had mowed people down with his vehicle on the Westminster bridge while heading to the Parliament building. At least 40 others were injured in the incident. </s> At least one person died and several officers were injured in the attack, which came a day after bombs went off in churches across the city, killing at least 13 people. Officials said details of the victims were still unclear, and no-one has claimed responsibility. Some reports said civilians had also been caught in the blasts.

Latest police reports indicate that the attack involved an entire family, including an eight-year-old child. They drew up at a checkpoint at police HQ on two mopeds before detonating their devices. The child survived the attack with only minor injuries.

On Sunday three churches were targeted, say police, who are blaming the members of a single radicalised family that allegedly went to Syria.

Indonesia's Chief Security minister says the army and police will be stepping up security , and Indonesia's president said the attacks were acts of "cowards", and he would force a new anti-terror law through parliament if necessary. </s> At least 20 people lost their lives in Pakistan after a blast hit a vegetable market in Kurram Agency's area of Parachinar city on Saturday morning (21 January). According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the explosion took place at 8.50am local time (3.50am GMT) during rush hour when the retailers were busy buying fruits and vegetables.

Ikramullah Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar, said that the source of the blast was an improvised explosive device (IED) hidden in a vegetable box.

"At least 20 people have been killed and 49 wounded," assistant political agent Shahid Ali told Dawn News. Meanwhile, a bomb disposal squad official confirmed that the explosion was remote-controlled.

AFP news agency cited Noorullah Khan, an official in Parachinar hospital, as saying over 40 injured have been shifted to the hospital.

Dr Sabir Hussain at the Parachinar main hospital said that 11 of those injured died while being treated. Several people who have been critically injured have been shifted to other hospitals for better care, he added.

Ashiq Hussain, an eyewitness, said he saw bodies strewn around the market following the blast.

"There was no ambulance, and people had to carry the injured in cars and private pickup trucks to the hospital," Hussain said.

No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet.

The Kurram agency is one of the most sensitive tribal areas of Pakistan as it borders Afghanistan and is adjacent to North Waziristan where Operation Zarb-i-Azb is in progress against the Tehreek-i-Taliban and other insurgent groups. </s> At least nine people were killed and 46 injured on Wednesday night after a man intentionally drove a vehicle into a crowded pedestrian square in a southern Chinese city, according to local officials and state news outlets.

Around 7:30 p.m., a driver plowed his car into several people in the square in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, the local government said in a posting on Weibo, China’s popular social media platform.

The government statement called the attack a “malicious case of intentional driving” and said a man had been taken into custody. An investigation has begun, the statement said, but there was no mention of terrorism as a possible motive.

The injured were taken to hospitals; at least three were in serious condition.

Videos of the incident were posted to social media and widely shared, depicting scenes of carnage and chaos in the square, which was crowded for an event. Several clips from national news networks showed the wounded and dead lying in the square, blood near their crumpled bodies. People ran to their aid, screaming and crying as they frantically sought to help. </s> At least 17 people, including foreigners, were reportedly shot dead as suspected Islamist militants attacked a Turkish restaurant in central Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina-Faso, and started a gun battle with the military.

The place, identified as Aziz Istanbul restaurant in the city center, was “attacked by suspected jihadists,” AFP reported, citing a restaurant server.

Three of the perpetrators have been killed by security forces, Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou confirmed to state TV on Monday, as cited by Reuters. He did not elaborate on how many attackers were involved in the assault.

“They are confined to one part of the building they attacked. Security and elite forces are conducting an operation,” he said earlier.

Earlier Dandjinou confirmed that at least 17 people have been killed and eight others injured in attack in the capital, Ouagadougou, Burkina 24 reported him as saying.

AFP reported, citing an unnamed army officer, that the hostages were taken on both floors of a two-story building, with the restaurant located on the ground floor.

Fuzzy footage of nighttime streets with heavy gunfire being heard has surfaced on social media. Some pictures showed presumed survivors of the attack. A witness told Reuters that he saw customers running out of the restaurant, with security forces surrounding the area.

RFI reported, citing witnesses, that three people drove to the café before going on a shooting rampage there.

Local MP Allassane Sakandé reported “a dozen wounded” and “several dead” as a result of the shooting, as cited by Radio Omega.

The director of Yalgado Ouedraogo Hospital in Ouagadougou, where the victims of the attack were taken, reported that at least three people had died and 11 others were injured in the assault.

The troops have reportedly stormed the café but the fate of the attackers was not immediately known.

Meanwhile, Communications Minister Remi Dandjinousay said the authorities are not ruling out that the incident was a terrorist attack.

The central street where the Turkish restaurant is located has several luxury hotels favored by foreign visitors, including the nearby Hotel Bravia and the Splendid Hotel. The Splendid was the target of the January 15, 2016 terrorist attack, in which Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants cold-bloodedly shot or took hostage some 200 people. Some 176 hostages were released, over 50 people were injured and 30 died. The slain victims included citizens of 10 foreign countries, including Canada, Ukraine, France, Switzerland and the US.

READ MORE: 6 Canadians, 4 Ukrainians, American among 28 killed in Burkina Faso attack aimed at ‘white people’

Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's foreign minister, expressed solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso on Twitter, calling the shooting incident “a barbarian act of terrorism."

Mali, which borders Burkina Faso, has been battling a jihadist insurgency in its northern and central regions for years. In June, jihadists stormed a luxury resort in Bamako, the country's capital, taking dozens of hostages and killing five people. </s> At least 33 people have been killed and scores more wounded in a double car bomb attack in Benghazi, Libya. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the atrocities.

A vehicle packed with explosives detonated next to Al-Radwan mosque and the headquarters of the Passport Authority in Al-Sleimani neighborhood of the Libyan capital on Tuesday afternoon just as people were leaving prayers. Minutes later a second car parked on the opposite side of the street blew up, causing more casualties among security services who had rushed to the scene and civilians who gathered at the spot of the initial explosion.

The casualty tally has not yet been officially confirmed. At least 33 people died in the dual attack, while at least 50 others were injured, officials told Reuters. Local news outlets report the death toll now stands at 41 dead and 80 wounded.

The city’s al-Jala hospital said it received the corpses of at least 25 people (both civilians and military) who died in the blasts. The hospital added that it is treating another 51 patients. “Some of the injured people were critically wounded, and some of them died of injuries sustained,” a spokesperson for the health facility noted, adding that the death toll could rise.

President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh Issa condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the “cowardly terrorist act.”

“All Libyans have to unite, reunite, understand and reconcile in order to save their country from this mess, chaos, criminality and terrorism, which impacts all and does not exclude anyone,” he said.

In July, the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by General Khalifa Haftar announced that after more than three years of fighting it has liberated the city from several Islamist militant and jihadist cells belonging to the so-called Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi. Despite the claim, lawless elements continued to terrorize the city.

Since the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, the resulting power vacuum has seen the country descend into chaos with competing groups vying for control. There are currently several centers of power in Libya, with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the one in Tobruk toward the east of the country being the most prominent.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Al-Qaeda and other terrorist and jihadist groups have also gained traction in the fractured country plagued by violent clashes between the various competing factions. While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, Member of Libya’s internationally recognized parliament, MP Khalifa al-Daghari, blamed the “defeated terrorists” for the strikes.

“The cowardly terrorist act carried out by the extremist sleeping cells in the city of Benghazi [resulted] in the killing of a number of innocent citizens in front of the largest mosques in the city,” al-Daghari said. “Extremist groups are destabilizing the city after their defeat and their expulsion from the city.”

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! </s> Cairo [Egypt], Aug 6 (ANI): Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi on Monday called the car explosion that took place near a cancer institute here earlier today as a "terrorist incident" in which at least 20 people were killed.

"I extend my deepest condolences to the Egyptian people and to the families of the martyrs who died as a result of the cowardly terrorist incident in the vicinity of the Kasr Al-Aini area yesterday evening," the president wrote on Twitter.

"The car contained explosives, and the collision led to their detonation," the interior ministry said in a statement.

"It is estimated that the car was being transported to a location for use in the execution of a terrorist operation," the statement read.

It added that the car was driving in the wrong direction the previous night (local time) when it collided with three other vehicles, causing a major blast. 

The attack was carried out by the Hasm group, a local Islamic terror group. 

Al Jazeera reported around 40 people were wounded in the incident.

The explosion caused a blaze that forced the partial evacuation of the National Cancer Institute, the health ministry said. Around 78 patients at the institute were transferred to other hospitals following the blast.

The state media further reported that all of the wounded were in a stable condition except for three who were taken in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Khaled Megahed, a spokesman for the health ministry, said at a press conference on Monday that patients in the ICU suffered "several burns of varying degrees". (ANI) </s> Seventeen people have died and 32 have been injured in an explosion outside Egypt’s National Cancer Institute in central Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry said early on Monday, Reuters reports.

A car driving against traffic on Cairo’s corniche collided with three other cars, causing the explosion, Egypt’s interior ministry said in a statement.

Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the cause of the incident, sources told Reuters, but there was no official statement indicating that the explosion was an attack.
The GMP confirms at least 19 people have been killed and 50 others injured and is treating the incident as a terrorist attack. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility.