Soldier BEHEADED and two men shot in London TERROR ATTACK | UK | News | Daily Express
Soldier BEHEADED and two men shot in London TERROR ATTACK
A TERROR attack in which a serving British soldier has been 'beheaded' in a London street has been described as 'truly shocking' by Prime Minister David Cameron.
One man has died and two others - believed to be his assailants - are in a serious condition after the 'machete-style' assault in Woolwich.
Police have confirmed that they are treating the incident as a terrorism and it is believed the killing was likely a politically-motivated Islamist attack.
A Whitehall source claimed the men were heard to shout 'Allah Akbar' as they attacked the victim in broad daylight.
Home Secretary Theresa May, who described the incident as 'sickening and barbaric', has called a meeting of COBRA, the Government's emergency committee.
Police were forced to close John Wilson Street some 200 yards from the Royal Artillery Barracks, adjacent to Woolwich Common, the historical home of the Royal Artillery.
One man was confirmed dead at the scene of the incident in Woolwich, south east London, and two other men were taken to hospital, one of them in a serious condition, a London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said. It is thought police confronted and shot the two assailants.
The barracks, also known as the Woolwich station, now houses a number of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and independent companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards.
Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said: "At approximately 14:20 we were called to reports of an assault in John Wilson Street, Woolwich where one man was being assaulted by two other men.
"A number of weapons were reportedly being used in the attack, and this included reports of a firearm."
Police officers and emergency services at the scene of the incident in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER)
Commander Letchford confirmed that the two men, who had been seen carrying weapons, were shot by police and taken to hospital and are being treated for their injuries.
He was unable to give any details on the victim of the attack.
Woolwich and Greenwich MP Nick Raynsford said he had spoken to both borough commander Richard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Bob Christopher at Woolwich Barracks about the incident.
Mr Raynsford said: "The incident occurred early afternoon. One individual is dead, two others are seriously injured and in hospital."
Prime Minister David Cameron described the Woolwich killing as "truly shocking".
While London Mayor Boris Johnson tweeted that the attack was 'sickening deluded' and that it was an 'unforgivable act of violence'.
In a statement Mrs May said: "It has been confirmed to me that a man has been brutally murdered this afternoon in South East London. Two other men were shot by armed police and they are currently receiving treatment for their injuries.
"I have called a COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Room) meeting where I will receive further briefing. This is a sickening and barbaric attack."
This is truly shocking
Prime Minister David Cameron
Mr Johnson added that his thoughts are with the victim and their family.
Unconfirmed reports on social networking sites allege the man was attacked with a machete after being ambushed by two men in a car.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) have said they are urgently looking into reports that the incident involved a soldier but had no further comment.
The incident occurred some 200 yards from the barracks, adjacent to Woolwich Common, and is the historical home of the Royal Artillery.
Twitter users gave rolling updates on what they saw, claiming that onlookers were shocked by the scenes they had witnessed.
An aerial shot of the scene in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER/@BBCNEWS)
Eyewitnesses said a man wearing an Army charity 'Help for Heroes' T-shirt was attacked with a machete and dumped in the street.
One witness, identified only as James, told LBC radio that he and his partner saw two black men attack the young victim with knives, including a meat cleaver.
He said: "They were hacking at this poor guy, literally.
"They were hacking at him, chopping him, cutting him."
The witness was fighting back the tears during the interview, saying that attack was 'horrendous' and comparing the two men to 'animals'.
He said a number of 'brave' women had tried to shield the man who was on the ground from the two men.
James said that the men stood around waving knives and a gun, and even asked nearby people to take pictures of them.
Pools of blood and weapons were spotted at the scene.
A woman working in an office overlooking the street said that she could see three bodies lying in the road.
She said: "All the bodies are within about 30-40 metres of each other. I could see armed police all over the place."There was a lot of commotion, police running around in all different directions, as if they were looking for other people."
London Air Ambulance confirmed that one person has been airlifted from the scene, but would not confirm the nature of the injuries or where they were taken.
On its Twitter account, the Metropolitan Police helicopter team called the incident "serious".
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers have responded to an incident in John Wilson Street at 2.20pm today.
A picture of a man in the road after the incident in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER)
"We believe at this stage officers were called to reports of an assault."
A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service added: "We were called a 2.20pm to reports of an incident at John Wilson Street.
"We sent two responders in cars, three ambulance crews, two duty officers and London Air Ambulance were called out.
"We still have staff at the scene."
Soldier BEHEADED and two men shot in London TERROR ATTACK
A TERROR attack in which a serving British soldier has been 'beheaded' in a London street has been described as 'truly shocking' by Prime Minister David Cameron.
One man has died and two others - believed to be his assailants - are in a serious condition after the 'machete-style' assault in Woolwich.
Police have confirmed that they are treating the incident as a terrorism and it is believed the killing was likely a politically-motivated Islamist attack.
A Whitehall source claimed the men were heard to shout 'Allah Akbar' as they attacked the victim in broad daylight.
Home Secretary Theresa May, who described the incident as 'sickening and barbaric', has called a meeting of COBRA, the Government's emergency committee.
Police were forced to close John Wilson Street some 200 yards from the Royal Artillery Barracks, adjacent to Woolwich Common, the historical home of the Royal Artillery.
One man was confirmed dead at the scene of the incident in Woolwich, south east London, and two other men were taken to hospital, one of them in a serious condition, a London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said. It is thought police confronted and shot the two assailants.
The barracks, also known as the Woolwich station, now houses a number of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and independent companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards.
Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said: "At approximately 14:20 we were called to reports of an assault in John Wilson Street, Woolwich where one man was being assaulted by two other men.
"A number of weapons were reportedly being used in the attack, and this included reports of a firearm."
Police officers and emergency services at the scene of the incident in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER)
Commander Letchford confirmed that the two men, who had been seen carrying weapons, were shot by police and taken to hospital and are being treated for their injuries.
He was unable to give any details on the victim of the attack.
Woolwich and Greenwich MP Nick Raynsford said he had spoken to both borough commander Richard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Bob Christopher at Woolwich Barracks about the incident.
Mr Raynsford said: "The incident occurred early afternoon. One individual is dead, two others are seriously injured and in hospital."
Prime Minister David Cameron described the Woolwich killing as "truly shocking".
While London Mayor Boris Johnson tweeted that the attack was 'sickening deluded' and that it was an 'unforgivable act of violence'.
In a statement Mrs May said: "It has been confirmed to me that a man has been brutally murdered this afternoon in South East London. Two other men were shot by armed police and they are currently receiving treatment for their injuries.
"I have called a COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Room) meeting where I will receive further briefing. This is a sickening and barbaric attack."
This is truly shocking
Prime Minister David Cameron
Mr Johnson added that his thoughts are with the victim and their family.
Unconfirmed reports on social networking sites allege the man was attacked with a machete after being ambushed by two men in a car.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) have said they are urgently looking into reports that the incident involved a soldier but had no further comment.
The incident occurred some 200 yards from the barracks, adjacent to Woolwich Common, and is the historical home of the Royal Artillery.
Twitter users gave rolling updates on what they saw, claiming that onlookers were shocked by the scenes they had witnessed.
An aerial shot of the scene in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER/@BBCNEWS)
Eyewitnesses said a man wearing an Army charity 'Help for Heroes' T-shirt was attacked with a machete and dumped in the street.
One witness, identified only as James, told LBC radio that he and his partner saw two black men attack the young victim with knives, including a meat cleaver.
He said: "They were hacking at this poor guy, literally.
"They were hacking at him, chopping him, cutting him."
The witness was fighting back the tears during the interview, saying that attack was 'horrendous' and comparing the two men to 'animals'.
He said a number of 'brave' women had tried to shield the man who was on the ground from the two men.
James said that the men stood around waving knives and a gun, and even asked nearby people to take pictures of them.
Pools of blood and weapons were spotted at the scene.
A woman working in an office overlooking the street said that she could see three bodies lying in the road.
She said: "All the bodies are within about 30-40 metres of each other. I could see armed police all over the place."There was a lot of commotion, police running around in all different directions, as if they were looking for other people."
London Air Ambulance confirmed that one person has been airlifted from the scene, but would not confirm the nature of the injuries or where they were taken.
On its Twitter account, the Metropolitan Police helicopter team called the incident "serious".
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers have responded to an incident in John Wilson Street at 2.20pm today.
A picture of a man in the road after the incident in Woolwich (PIC: TWITTER)
"We believe at this stage officers were called to reports of an assault."
A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service added: "We were called a 2.20pm to reports of an incident at John Wilson Street.
"We sent two responders in cars, three ambulance crews, two duty officers and London Air Ambulance were called out.
"We still have staff at the scene."
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