London terror attack: ISIS claims responsibility for deadly rampage outside Parliament building
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack that left four people dead, including the assailant and a police officer, outside of London’s Parliament building on Wednesday, according to the Amaq media agency.
"The perpetrator of the attacks yesterday in front of the British Parliament in London is an Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of the coalition," the Amaq statement said.
The claim of responsibility comes fewer than 24 hours after a man driving an SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge near the Parliament building.
Two people were killed and more than 30 others injured before the attacker fatally stabbed police officer Keith Palmer on the Parliament’s grounds. Police shot the attacker, who later was pronounced dead.
The attacker's identity has not been revealed, but British Prime Minister Theresa May said he was born in Britain and known to authorities who had once investigated him for links to religious extremism.
"Our working assumption is that the attacker was inspired by Islamist ideology," she told members of Parliament. “We know the threat from Islamist terrorism is very real. But while the public should remain utterly vigilant, they should not and will not be cowed by this threat.”
Additional information:
Additional information:
Masood, 52, was born in Kent to the southeast of London and had been most recently living in central England, London police said. Known by a number of other aliases, he had not been convicted previously for any terrorism offences, they added.
"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," they said in a statement.
"However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH (grievous bodily harm), possession of offensive weapons and public order offences."
Police said his first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
The link to central England tied in with the news that the car used in the attack had been hired from rental company Enterprise's Spring Hill branch in Birmingham.
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