Terrifying moment three Jihadis were shot dead after killing seven and hurting 48: Gang yell 'This is for Allah' after mowing down crowd on London Bridge then going on stabbing frenzy
- Seven people were killed and at least 48 others injured in an on London Bridge and Borough Market last night
- Three men drove a white van in an 'S shape' across the bridge at 50mph, mowing down up to 20 pedestrians
- They left the vehicle and began 'randomly stabbing' victims with 12-inch knives in busy bars in the market
- Witnesses described seeing victims with their throats cut while others fought off attackers with pint glasses
- Police shot dead the terrorists - one of whom was wearing an Arsenal shirt - within eight minutes of initial call
- Today armed police raided a block of flats in Barking, east London, as a major investigation was underway
- Terror attack comes just 12 days after the Manchester attack and 10 weeks after the Westminster atrocity
- Did you see what happened? Please email darren.boyle@mailonline.co.uk or call 0203 615 387
Police are today seeking the identities of three Jihadi terrorists who were shot dead by armed police after killing seven people and injuring dozens of others in a horrific van and knife rampage through central London last night.
The men, described as being 'of Mediterranean origin', mowed down up to 20 revellers as they careered across London Bridge in an 'S shape' at 50mph before they began 'randomly stabbing' people in nearby Borough Market.
Today five people were reportedly arrested in an early morning raid on a block of flats in Barking, east London, as police launch a major investigation into what is the third terror attack on British soil in the last three months.
Speaking outside No 10 today, Theresa May confirmed the London Bridge atrocity is not directly connected to last month's Manchester bombing or Westminster attack in April but that all three are linked by 'the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism'. The terror threat level remains at 'severe', meaning another attack is 'highly likely'.
The three attackers, who were wearing fake suicide vests, shouted 'this is for Allah' as they used 12-inch hunting knives to attack revellers at busy bars and restaurants in the market, sending dozens of others fleeing for their lives. One of the suspects was wearing an Arsenal football shirt.
Witnesses said the gang smashed pub windows and reportedly cut the throats of drinkers as civilians barricaded themselves inside and fought off the attackers with pint glasses and chairs. One witness saw a 'dark-skinned' man in a red tracksuit 'calmly' stab a man three times while another witnessed a victim being stabbed in the face.Armed police rushed to the scene and shot dead all three suspects within eight minutes of receiving the first emergency call and placed the area on lock down. Meanwhile medics wheeled away injured victims on stretchers while crying people wrapped in foil blankets were evacuated from the 'horrific' scene.
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The scene remains on lock down today as armed police and forensic officers continue to piece together what took place last night. The terror threat remains at severe, meaning another terror attack is considered 'highly likely'.
Meanwhile:
- Witness accounts of the terrifying events started to emerge with revellers describing how they fought off knifemen with chairs and glasses after attackers stormed packed bars and restaurants
- A hero taxi driver revealed how he tried to knock down three men 'armed with 12in knives' while another reported seeing victim being stabbed in the face and chest
- Dashcam footage emerged showing the aftermath of the devastation caused by the van on London Bridge, with bystanders seen tending to victims on the side of the road
- Desperate families are begging for information on loved ones feared missing after the attack, including a 16-year-old girl who failed to return home last night
- Kindhearted Londoners offered beds, food and cups of tea to survivors as the city came together in the wake of another attack and #PrayForLondon trended on social media
- Today heavily armed officers raided a flat in Barking, east London, on Sunday morning as police launched a major investigation into the third terror attack on British soil in as many months
- The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee in Whitehall this morning and insisted in a press conference outside No 10 afterwards: 'Enough is enough'
- Politicians faced calls to cancel the election next week but Mrs May confirmed it will go ahead as planned
- All parties except for Ukip agreed to suspend national election campaigning today but local efforts will continue
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the 'barbaric' and 'horrific' event as 'deliberate and cowardly'. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the attack was 'brutal' and 'shocking' in a tweet last night
- President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Britain, saying 'Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there - WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!'
- Ariana Grande, whose young fans were targeted in the attack at Manchester Arena, confirmed the benefit concert to benefit victims will go ahead tonight as planned with her manager urging people to stand together
Speaking from the steps of No 10 today, Mrs May said Britain faces a 'new trend in the threat we face' as she condemned the brutal attacks.
The Premier said there was 'far too much tolerance' of extreme views and vowed to stand up for 'pluralistic British values' that were 'superior' to the fanatics' ideology. She vowed: 'We will take on and defeat our enemies.'
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Mrs May, who chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee this morning, said the election campaign would resume in full tomorrow and the election on Thursday would go ahead as planned.
The official terror threat level has not been changed and remains at 'severe' - meaning an attack is 'highly likely'.
The PM praised the 'great courage and great speed' with which police responded to the terror attacks and condemned the use of fake suicide vests to 'spread panic and fear'.
The terror started last night when three men drove a van in an 'S shape' across London Bridge shortly before 10.10pm last night in an attempt to deliberately target pedestrians. There are unconfirmed reports that it is a B&Q and Hertz van.
An on-duty British Transport Police officer who rushed to protect bystanders was among the first victims attacked as the attackers abandoned their vehicle and began stabbing at random.
He suffered 'serious but not life-threatening injuries' and his family has been informed.
Some 48 people have been taken to five hospitals across London after the horrific attack. One of the fatalities was at London bridge, it has been reported.
'The men said "This is for Allah" as they left the van and attacked victims. There were definitely three people sitting at the front of the van,' witness Eric Seguenzo told BBC News.
He added: 'I thought the van was travelling on wrong side of the road, as though the brakes had failed. The white van had yellow stripes, veered to the right and people tried to jump out the way.'
Witnesses to the terror attack heard at least 12 gunshots in the area, now believed to have been police firing at the attackers.
Ben and his wife Natalie were in Borough Market near the Southwark Tavern. They told BBC Radio 5 Live that they saw a 'dark-skinned man in a red tracksuit' stabbing a man.
Ben said: 'We saw people running away and then I saw a man in red with a large blade, at a guess 10 inches long, stabbing a man, about three times.
'I was across the road about 15m away. [The attacker] was dark-skinned and had a red tracksuit on.
'It looked like the man had been trying to intervene, but there wasn't much he could do. He was being stabbed quite coldly and he slumped to the ground.'
Counter Terrorism Command have launched an investigation and anybody who has images or film of the incident have been asked to pass those to police by uploading it at www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.
'Our thoughts are with all those involved and those responding to both incidents. Those who are concerned about a loved one can contact the Casualty Bureau on 0800 0961 233,' police said in a statement.
'We are reviewing and planning to strengthen our policing stance across London over the forthcoming days, and there will be additional police and officers deployed across the Capital.
'I would like to ask the public to remain vigilant and let us know if they see anything suspicious that causes them concern and dial 999 immediately.'
Police advised people who live within the London Bridge cordon to stay somewhere else on Saturday night if they could.
One witness said: 'No one was hurt from the van impact but as the men got out the van they started kicking, punching and stabbing victims they ran over. It was a rampage.'
One of the men suspected of being an attacker was pictured lying on the ground after he was shot by the police outside the Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market. Another man was seen lying on the ground a short distance away.
It was earlier reported that SAS helicopters were flown in from their Hereford headquarters to hunt for the deadly terrorists.
The bridge is in lock down and the area around it is closed with bus routes being diverted, as armed police and a bomb squad attended the scene and boats searched the Thames for bodies - amid reports that people were pushed into the water.
Fifty armed police also stormed nearby Monument and Bank station with police dogs. The stations were closed.
Photographer Gabriele Sciotto, who had been in the area watching the Champions League Final, said he ran towards the scene of the attack after the three assailants began stabbing people in the Borough Market area.
He told BBC News: 'I came in after the men stabbed some other men. I ran towards the scene because I noticed this man with this kind of explosive looking belt on his chest, they were running.
'A police officer was trying to put himself between them and the crowd. After that they were almost coming towards me and I tried to run away. Then they were going towards the main street. At that point, I ran towards them.
'More police came over, I guess they were on radio or something because in around like two or five seconds they shot all the three men down. That is what I honestly saw.'
One of the terrorists was shown in a photograph lying on the ground with canisters strapped to his body after he was shot by the police, the BBC said.
The possible attacker was shown on the ground outside the Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market near London Bridge. Another man was seen lying on the ground a short distance away in the photograph.
Describing what appeared to be canisters strapped to the man's chest, Mr Sciotto said: 'At first sight I thought it wasn't anything real. It didn't look real to me but I'm not like the person who could honestly say if they were real or not,'
He added: 'I've been in situations like this before, I don't think you realise how scary how possibly be until you put yourself into it, a policeman could have shot me because it was me, the police and these three men so I was lucky definitely.'
Will Orton, 25, said: 'We were in the Sheaf pub. Basically lots of people came running inside, we didn't really know what was going on.
'We thought maybe there was a fight or something outside. And then there were almost hundreds of people coming inside.'
He added: 'The bouncers did a really good job, they shut the doors and locked everyone in. There was panic - it seemed like it was literally outside the door. People were coming inside and saying they had witnessed people being stabbed.
'They had seen and witnessed people being stabbed. It seemed like it was happening immediately outside the entrance.'
A bystander said a friend was in Applebee's Restaurant - which is opposite Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market - when suddenly the waiters pulled down all the shutters.
'They looked outside and saw two men lying dead in the street, one had what looked like a suicide vest on him. Police told everyone in the restaurant to stay inside, then a minute or two later they heard two or three shots fired.'
There were also claims earlier in the evening that a topless man had been handcuffed and taken into custody.
Drinkers are said to have thrown chairs and glasses at the attacker as he stormed the pub. Video shows drinkers in the basement German-themed bar Katzenjammers hiding under tables as the terror attack unfolded around them.
Jamie, a witness who was in Black & Blue in Rochester Walk said: 'We hid under the table and people came into the restaurant and knocked a bunch of stuff over, like the till.
'And then we ran into the the kitchen, where there was a bunch of other people and a guy had been stabbed and he was cut and he was bleeding quite a lot.'
He added that they waited in the kitchen for 'quite a while' before they were evacuated.
A woman, who did not want to be named, added: 'We were in the restaurant and we just saw three guys come in, stabbed someone in the face and someone in the stomach.
'One of them had a big knife, then he came in and walked around the restaurant, I guess they just kind of stabbed anyone that they saw and knocked things on the ground and then we just hid.'
Gerard Vowls, 47, who was in a pub near London Bridge, said he threw chairs and glasses at the attackers in a bid to stop them entering.
He told The Guardian: 'They kept coming to try to stab me - they were stabbing everyone. Evil, evil people.'
One witness reported seeing a van crash into a lamppost by the Barrowboy and Banker pub past the bridge. She added: 'Just trying to get away at the moment. There are no trains leaving so we're just panicking a little.'
Barman Alex Martinez was forced to take shelter in a bin when a knifeman stormed the Borough restaurant in which he worked.
He said: 'I remember that I was working behind the bar and one man entered into my restaurant and that's it - I remember about the third table, second one, next to the door, a man dropped everything and ran out.
'I just tried to be safe, I jumped down behind a big wall, now I feel my pain in my arm, I feel pain. I saw that man with a knife in his hand and after that a man started screaming so I knew something wrong was happening.
'The man started screaming and dropping everything on the floor, the plates, the cutlery, the bottle, everything, he dropped it.'
He recalled hearing someone crying near his bin and said the two exchanged reassurances.
One man who was in a pub by the Shard told MailOnline: 'I was feet away from getting stabbed. Saw so many people literally dying. Was in a pub and they were at the door stabbing people.'
Hours after the initial attack two loud blasts were heard near London Bridge although police were said to have looked 'calm' about the explosions.
It is thought that they could have been controlled explosions carried out by officers.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called the terrorist incidents at London Bridge and Borough Market 'deliberate and cowardly', adding: 'There is no justification whatsoever for such barbaric acts'.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the London attacks were 'horrific', adding they were 'targeted at people enjoying their evening with friends and family'.
Police responded to a third incident in Vauxhall, south London, which later turned out to be an unrelated stabbing. Officers are telling people 'you must run, hide and tell'.
The attacks in the streets of London come just days after armed troops were pulled off the streets of Britain.
Thousands of soldiers were deployed by the Prime Minister following the bombing at Manchester arena as she raised the UK threat level from 'severe' to 'critical'.
Police are treating injured people and carrying them away at the end Thrale Street. Members of the public were told by police to 'run as fast as they could' westbound.
Kumi de Costa was caught up with her two friends at the incident in Borough Market. She told the BBC: 'The cab driver turned into the market and we got stuck right in the middle of the shooting we were in a one-way street and couldn't turn around.
'There were loads of shots being fired. Two people were on the floor behind the church with two or three people leaning over them.
'About 50 police were pointing guns at us - the cab driver had the laser pointed right at them, our hands were up, we were trying to get out so they shooed us away.
'A man was coming out of the restaurant, he had a napkin on his neck with blood pouring out, there was another man lying on the floor. I don't know if he was in the recovery position or dead.
'We weaved through little side streets where the police were telling us to go to Blackfriars Bridge and we could see people looking over the side; people had maybe jumped over the bridge.
'A couple of times we had to lie down on the floor of the cab because of the shooting around us.'
Police have told people to 'remain calm, but be alert and vigilant.' They added: 'We are using all necessary skills and resources at London Bridge, Borough Market and Vauxhall.'
Bursts of gunfire were heard as witnesses described how one man was arrested after police stormed towards a house in Southwark.
The Asian man in his mid thirties had his hands tied behind his back as up to 30 police frogmarched him down the street shouting at people to get back.
Eyewitness John Bennet said: 'As I was walking up the Borough High Street the police were crowded round a house on the right hand side.'
'They had shields and were wearing masks and were running across the street shouting at one another.
'I heard what sounded like short bursts of gunfire. Suddenly they started shouting at us 'run away' ' get back' and people really were running for their lives.
'About 15 of us were running down Borough High street toward London Bridge followed by 30 armed police. They were spread put across the street.
'They had a man. There were four police either side of him and others crowded round. They had his hands tied behind his back.
'He was Asian man, about 5ft 6in, dark hair, mid thirties with stubble. wearing a dark jacket. He was being frogmarched quickly down the street. They crowded round him at the first corner then we were all ushered away as they extended the cordon.
'It was really scary. The police were round on a corner on the street, they had shields and guns. Then everyone started running, they had arrested a guy and were running with him.'
A security guard who oversees a number of pubs in the area has told the BBC he saw four people stabbed by three attackers.
The man, who was deeply shocked and asked not to be named, said he was at the Market Porter pub when a colleague at another bar said there was a stabbing at the Borough Bistro pub nearby.
He said he went towards this pub and saw that 'everybody started running' and there was screaming.
The eyewitness added that he saw three attackers, one of whom had a long knife and stabbing people, including a girl in her early 20s.
Alex Shellum was in the Mudlark pub with his girlfriend and two friends, underneath London Bridge, at the time of the incident.
'At around 10pm an injured woman came into the pub seeking assistance. She was bleeding heavily from the neck - it appeared that her throat had been cut. People sought to stem the bleeding and the pub was closed.
'Outside the pub, emergency services were performing CPR on a further individual. From there, we were instructed to move along by armed police.'
They sought refuge with some others at Bill's restaurant in the market.
'Police instructed us to wait in the kitchen whilst they swept the surrounding area. We were then ordered to leave the restaurant by armed police - we were then escorted at running speed away from the area.'
There are about 20 people being treated at the Andaz Hotel near Liverpool Street station.
One woman has been stretchered into an ambulance along with a young man with a heavily bandaged and bloodied head. Most of the wounded have now been moved.
People staying in the Premier Inn Bankside have been evacuated across Southwark Bridge. Dozens, including children, were brought across the bridge by police after the fire alarm in the hotel went off, according to one.
Samuel Templeton, from Belfast, one of the guests in the hotel, said there was a heavy police presence and they were told to cross the bridge in single file. The guests have since been escorted to a nearby hotel.
Downing Street said in a statement: 'The prime minister is in contact with officials and is being regularly updated on the incident at London Bridge.'
Jeremy Corbyn has tweeted: 'Brutal and shocking incidents reported in London. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.' #LondonBridge'.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added: 'Dreadful news from London. My thoughts are with all those affected.'
President Donald Trump has tweeted in the wake of the horrifying events: 'We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!'
'Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there - WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!'
An hour after the attack witnesses reported seeing 'large numbers of marked and unmarked vehicles' speeding around the streets south of London Bridge amid a hunt for the suspects.
Others said they had been told to 'run' by armed officers or escorted under guard through empty streets in groups.
One eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous told MailOnline: 'I was in Arabica restaurant with a friend in borough market.
'Suddenly there was commotion and people were screaming. Security guards were yelling at people to get back from the window. About 50 people piled into the restaurant. Then I heard two separate bursts of gunfire and people rushed into the restaurant kitchens to hide. It was utter chaos.
'Some people tried to leave the kitchens via the back door but some of us tried to keep people calm. We hid for 45minutes and then were evacuated from the market by armed police.'
Several police officers have stormed a pub opposite the bridge and told people to 'get down' and sit on the floor.
A cab driver told LBC that three men jumped out of the van.
He said: 'They just had these long blades, about 12 inches long. They just went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people. A young girl got stabbed in the chest, she was laying there - it's so sad.
'I thought, 'I'm gonna try and hit him, I'm gonna try and knock him down'. I spun the cab round, I was about to ram one of them, but he side-stepped and three police officers came running towards them with their batons drawn.
'I was shouting at everybody, just get away from the area, stay back, just run the other way. There were a good few hundred people out there.'
'He's veered across the road towards the right hand of where Southwark Cathedral is and rammed it where the steps are.
'He just rammed it towards them, wedged it in between the lamppost and the steps and so he's hit people there.
'They've jumped out of the van and started stabbing people randomly. There was a scattering of people.'
Pictures of the white van will be circulated across London. Tony Murphy, who has a flat opposite Southwark Bridge, said he heard 'rapid gunfire'.
He said: 'I'm actually former military. I heard what was significant gunfire. At first I thought it was fireworks but it was so rapid I recognised what it was.
'It went on for quite a long time. The response took about 10 minutes. I immediately text my family and they said they heard it. It was tremendous gunfire.'
Holly Jones, a BBC reporter at the bridge when the incident happened, said a van had swerved off the road into a crowd of pedestrians.
'A white van driver came speeding – probably about 50mph – veered of the road into the crowds of people who were walking along the pavement,' she told BBC News.
'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 later reported seeing a man being arrested by police. She said he was handcuffed and had his shirt off.
Witness Alessandro told the BBC that he saw a van at the end of London Bridge with no driver inside and described the 'five or six' people hit as 'very young'.
He said: 'I was going up the stairs of London Bridge Station. I saw this van going left and right trying to hit as many people as he could. I tried to help people.
'At the end of the bridge we saw a van but we didn't see anyone in the van.
'I think [the driver] went to the end of London Bridge. We didn't see the van stop because we were trying to help people.
'Everything was confused. There were five or six people [hit]. Three of them were conscious. One of them was not talking at all. He was just down. The five or six people we tried to help were really young.'
Another taxi driver named only as Paul said: 'I was just going over London Bridge and on the left hand side it looked like someone had been knocked off a bike.
'A few yards on I saw another person laying down and a woman screaming. A few yards on from that there was a couple of bodies on the right hand side.'
Nick Archer, who was in the London Bridge area, told Sky News: 'We came out (of a bar) on to the road and looked and looked to my left and there is a guy, I thought he was just drinking but he was lying on the floor.
'And then a couple of seconds later, about three police vans flew past. 'He looked in a bad way.'
London Bridge station has been closed and no trains are expected until the end of service.
Holly, who said she was just two metres away from being hit by a white van, described the chaos on London Bridge after the attack.
She told Radio 5Live: I was probably two metres away. I saw it hit the people in front of me. I feel just so lucky now.
'It was all a blur, but as much as I can remember it was a male on their own [driving the van]. There are five people on the floor being attended too. There are loads of city police officers helping and boats on the Thames searching.'
The BBC's Holly Jones spoke to a French woman who had been injured in the incident.
She told Ms Jones: 'I don't know where those other two people are. So the police are checking the Thames.
'They were right near the edge of the bridge. It looks potentially they could have been thrown over.'
Witnesses told the BBC that a white van veered off the road on London Bridge and hit five or six people when the attack happened at 10pm.
One witness wrote on Twitter: 'Passerby says 15-20 people have been run over. Another says 7 or 8.'
'Horrific scene at London Bridge. Bodies strewn over the pavement, B&Q van mounted the pavement. I feel sick,' one witness wrote.
'On a boat travelling under London Bridge. Buses stopped. Police lights everywhere and boats checking the water. Please let everyone be okay!' another added.
Police are dealing with a major incident and all routes are being diverted.'
The Metropolitan Police posted on Twitter: 'We are dealing with an incident on London Bridge, when we have more information we will update this twitter feed.'
London Bridge is closed both ways due to a police incident, Tfl said, warning the public to avoid the area.
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