Islamikaze Terror Roils London
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May came out swinging today outside her official residence at 10 Downing Street, following Saturday night’s deadly eight minute Islamikaze attacks by three masked perpetrators. They drove a white industrial van across London Bridge subsequently perpetrating a knife wielding rampage at restaurants in the crowded Borough Market ending in their being shot and killed by London police.
Watch UK PM Theresa May comments on London Islamic terror attacks:
She said that “enough was enough…there was far too much tolerance of Islamic Extremism in our country.” May drew a connection to the March 22, 2017 Westminster and last night’s London Bridge episodes saying, they were both attributable to the “single evil ideology of Islamist extremism.” While alleging there may have been progress, she further exclaimed, there was “far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.” She characterized the attacks as “brutal” saying, “We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are.” May promised a review of the UK counterterrorism policy possibly eliminating the internet as a “safe space” for Islamic terrorists.
Problem is that last night’s Islamic terror attack; the third one in four months, may be a self inflicted wound, given the prevailing counterterrorism policies of both the Cameron and May Conservative governments. Now with less than five days to go before the snap election on June 8th she originally called to resolve the Brexit impasse, her poll numbers are swooning. That presents the potentially negative prospect of either a hung Parliament if narrowly elected, or even worse, the razor thin election of the anti-Semitic and pro- Palestinian supporting Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The three masked perpetrators ploughed into crowds on London Bridge zig zagging across the roadway and sidewalk leaving behind several motionless bodies. They then abandoned the van at a signal light and equipped with knives and machete terrorized patrons dining at restaurants in the packed Borough Market. They stabbed a virtually unarmed London Transport officer defending himself with just a baton. They were confronted by armed London Police who shot and killed them after spotting them wearing what appeared to be suicide belts with attached canisters, which turned out to be fake.
The toll so far is seven dead, excluding the three perpetrators, 48 wounded; 21 critically being treated in London hospitals. The fatality count may yet still rise if any of these critically injured victims succumb to their injuries. 12 suspects have been arrested by police in Barking in East London.
Given the heightened fervor during Ramadan, the three dead Islamikaze perpetrators were likely seeking to follow in the way of Allah, jihad. They were out to kill their Kufr, unbelievers, becoming shahids, martyrs, for Islam. Doubtless, the Islamic State will claim responsibility for their dastardly deeds deeming them “soldiers of the Caliphate.” We await word from Mi-5 and London police whether, as in both the Westminster Bridge and Manchester Arena massacres, these perpetrators were native born British Muslim jihadi. Or perchance that one or more might have been returning veterans from fighting with ISIS.
Watch London Mayor Sadiq Khan comments on London Bridge and Borough Market attacks.
London’s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan, while “appalled and furious” at this attack, said, putting on a brave front, “we will never let these cowards win, and we will never be cowed by terrorism.” He was immediately attacked by President Trump who tweeted, “7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says ‘there is no reason to be alarmed!” To which the London Mayor spokesperson retorted in a later statement: “The Mayor is busy working with the police, emergency services, and the government to coordinate the response to this horrific and cowardly terrorist attack and provide leadership and reassurance to Londoners and visitors to our city. He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police — including armed officers — on the streets.”
Unlike UK Conservative PM May, Khan did not address the horrific events of Saturday night as the product of Islamic extremism.
While UK PM May suggested a one day suspension in election campaigning, Khan, ever the Labor partisan stalwart said, in effect, no need.
Were these vehicular terrorist attacks in both the Westminster and London bridge attacks One of the precedents in both Israel and Europe? One of the more informed observations on mainstream media coverage was remarks by a US counterterrorism analyst on MSNBC. He pointed out that there were 48 knifing and vehicular attacks in Israel by Palestinian terrorists. That may have set the examples for the jihad truck attacks on Bastille Day 2016 in Nice France and a Christmas Market truck attack in Berlin.
With Saturday night’s deadly Islamic terror spree on London Bridge and in Borough Market, the May 26th Manchester Arena suicide bombing and the March 22, Westminster Bridge vehicular jihad attack the toll now reaches , 33 killed and more than 157 injured. The Islamikaze perpetrators of these terrorist attacks were a 52 year old Muslim prison convert, Khalid Masood, driver of the rented SUV at Westminster Bridge; a 23 year old British born of Libyan heritage, suicide bomber Salman Abedi and, three, as yet to be identified, 30 ‘something’ men at London Bridge and Borough Market. Dozens of possible network suspects have been arrested. Yet, the question remains can any Westminster government create an effective counterterrorism policy with 2 million Muslims, many unassimliable communities and radical Imams preaching rejection of UK laws and Western values?
In Manchester, England Sunday night, an international assemblage of pop stars led by Ariana Grande held a benefit concert to honor and aid the victims of the May 26th suicide bombing by Shahid Salman Abedi. We trust that the event will have unprecedented security and achieve its objective of defying Islamic terror while preventing another Jihad attack against “soft targets.”