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| ‘We Are Not Afraid,’ Theresa May Proclaims After U.K. Parliament Attack | ‘We Are Not Afraid,’ Theresa May Proclaims After U.K. Parliament Attack |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for the deadly attack outside the British Parliament, as Prime Minister Theresa May described the assailant as a British-born man whom the country’s domestic intelligence agency had investigated for connections to violent extremism. | |
| Addressing lawmakers in Parliament who only a day earlier had been under lockdown, Mrs. May said Thursday morning that the attacker was “a peripheral figure” who had been examined by MI5, Britain’s domestic counterintelligence agency, but who had not been “part of the current intelligence picture.” | |
| Mrs. May said that officials were not ready to release the man’s name, but she added that “there was no prior evidence of his intent or of the plot” and that “our working assumption is that the attacker was inspired by Islamist ideology.” | Mrs. May said that officials were not ready to release the man’s name, but she added that “there was no prior evidence of his intent or of the plot” and that “our working assumption is that the attacker was inspired by Islamist ideology.” |
| Barely an hour after Mrs. May finished speaking, the Islamic State group issued a statement on the messaging app Telegram, declaring that the attacker was a “soldier” who “carried out the operation in response to appeals” to fight Western powers involved in military operations in the Middle East. The terrorist group did not provide further details. | |
| The British authorities raided six properties across the country on Thursday, detaining eight people in London and in Birmingham, in central England, as they pressed ahead with a fast-moving investigation. | |
| The authorities emphasized that they believed the assailant had acted alone, and that they did not expect any further attacks; Mrs. May said that the nation’s threat level would remain “severe,” meaning that an attack was likely, and would not be raised to “critical,” signaling an imminent attack. | |
| “Yesterday, an act of terrorism tried to silence our democracy,” Mrs. May said. “We are not afraid, and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism.” | |
| She added that the assault “an attack on free people everywhere.” | |
| Consistent with the multicultural character of London, the victims of the attack — three dead and around 40 others wounded — included 12 Britons, at least four South Koreans, three French schoolchildren, two Romanians and one citizen each of China, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Italy. | Consistent with the multicultural character of London, the victims of the attack — three dead and around 40 others wounded — included 12 Britons, at least four South Koreans, three French schoolchildren, two Romanians and one citizen each of China, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Italy. |
| The police also said that they had lowered the death toll in the attack on Wednesday to four from five, including the assailant. He drove his vehicle over pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then fatally stabbed a police constable, Keith Palmer, 48, before being shot dead by the police. | |
| A moment of silence was observed in London at 9:33 a.m. on Thursday, to be followed by a 6 p.m. vigil in Trafalgar Square. But even as the city returned fairly quickly to normalcy, and as Parliament resumed normal business — starting with a debate on trade policy — police officers were pursuing leads in the case. | A moment of silence was observed in London at 9:33 a.m. on Thursday, to be followed by a 6 p.m. vigil in Trafalgar Square. But even as the city returned fairly quickly to normalcy, and as Parliament resumed normal business — starting with a debate on trade policy — police officers were pursuing leads in the case. |
| “We’re dealing with an enemy, a terrorist enemy, that is not making demands or taking people hostage, but simply wants to kill as many people as possible,” the British defense secretary, Michael Fallon, told the BBC. “This is a new element to international terrorism.” | “We’re dealing with an enemy, a terrorist enemy, that is not making demands or taking people hostage, but simply wants to kill as many people as possible,” the British defense secretary, Michael Fallon, told the BBC. “This is a new element to international terrorism.” |
| Mr. Fallon added that the police had “forestalled a large number of these attacks in recent years, over a dozen last year.” | Mr. Fallon added that the police had “forestalled a large number of these attacks in recent years, over a dozen last year.” |
| Mr. Rowley, the assistant commissioner, said that there remained a large crime scene near Parliament and that the police would be sifting through CCTV footage as well as video evidence taken by witnesses. The investigation, he said, was focused on the assailant’s motive, on identifying his associates, and on the extent to which the attack was premeditated. Television footage showed police officers examining the pavement stones outside Parliament for clues. | |
| Before Mrs. May spoke, the secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox, began taking questions on trade issues by stating that it would be “not violence, hatred or division, but decency, goodness and tolerance that prevails in our country.” | Before Mrs. May spoke, the secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox, began taking questions on trade issues by stating that it would be “not violence, hatred or division, but decency, goodness and tolerance that prevails in our country.” |
| Speaking outside the chamber, Ed Miliband, a former leader of the Labour Party, said that the mood had been one of “shock and determination, and also admiration for the job that the security people are doing.” | |
| The reaction, he added, showed that “humanity is stronger than the cowardice and depravity of the person who did this.” | |
| Signs of the chaos from the day before were still in evidence. In the area where the fatal stabbing took place, just inside the gates of Parliament, a small blue tent had been erected over the site of the crime scene as the police continued forensic and other investigations. | Signs of the chaos from the day before were still in evidence. In the area where the fatal stabbing took place, just inside the gates of Parliament, a small blue tent had been erected over the site of the crime scene as the police continued forensic and other investigations. |
| The area around Parliament Square remained cordoned off, and a fire truck with flashing lights could still be seen parked outside the Palace of Westminster, while parts of two of London’s main roads — Whitehall and Millbank — were off limits. The security cordon extended up to Trafalgar Square, covering the entirety of Whitehall, the heart of Britain’s government, including the prime minister’s office, the Finance Ministry and the Foreign Office. | |
| Runners and cyclists took detours, while employees of Parliament and government ministries, including the Ministry of Defense, were allowed through the cordon only after identification checks by the police. | |
| Large thoroughfares typically packed with traffic during the morning rush hour were largely deserted, with roads like the Mall, which connects Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, used only by bicycles. | |
| Among those headed to work was Michael Torrance, 39, a House of Lords official. Clutching a box of tea bags in his hand — his office had quickly run out as politicians and their staff members hunkered down after being put on lockdown the day before — Mr. Torrance said that the full magnitude of the attack on the Parliament area had not yet sunk in. | |
| “Everyone was in various states of shock,” he said. “Looking at it in context, up and until the late ’70s, it was a frequent target of I.R.A. attacks.” | “Everyone was in various states of shock,” he said. “Looking at it in context, up and until the late ’70s, it was a frequent target of I.R.A. attacks.” |
| “Without sounding too fatalistic,” he added, “there was an air of inevitability about some kind of incident like this happening eventually.” | |
| He continued, “Parliament is obviously an iconic British institution, everyone was concerned, knew it was a target. Everyone’s alive to that.” | |
| Mr. Torrance noted that “everyone wanted to be as normal as possible,” and that sentiment seemed to be shared across the city early Thursday morning, as Londoners went to work as usual. Many clutched newspapers, with lurid headlines and photographs detailing the bloody attack the day before. | |
| Mrs. May said in a speech on Wednesday that life would go on and that the country must not cave into terrorism, and Londoners seemed to be taking the attacks in stride. | |
| “As I was coming in through the Tube, I noticed there was a great air of calm,” said Elizabeth Sweeney, 57, who works at the European Parliament and was in London at the time of the attack. “That was the overriding sense that I had, first thing.” | “As I was coming in through the Tube, I noticed there was a great air of calm,” said Elizabeth Sweeney, 57, who works at the European Parliament and was in London at the time of the attack. “That was the overriding sense that I had, first thing.” |
| After the recent bloody attacks in Brussels and Paris, many Londoners shared a sense of inevitability that the British capital could be next. They said that expectation, combined with British mettle conditioned over centuries of war, terrorism and other challenges, had helped people stay calm. | |
| “We do have a tendency to just get on with it,” said Meredith O’Shaughnessy, 38, an event planner. “It takes a lot to shake a Londoner. The Blitz spirit lives on,” she added, referring to the German raids over Britain during the Second World War during which Britons — and Londoners — showed determination and resolve. | “We do have a tendency to just get on with it,” said Meredith O’Shaughnessy, 38, an event planner. “It takes a lot to shake a Londoner. The Blitz spirit lives on,” she added, referring to the German raids over Britain during the Second World War during which Britons — and Londoners — showed determination and resolve. |
| At least three police officers were among those wounded on the bridge. Also among the wounded were three 10th-grade boys from a group of students visiting from the Brittany region of France, and a woman who fell or plunged into the River Thames. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that because three of the victims were French, it had opened an investigation into attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. | At least three police officers were among those wounded on the bridge. Also among the wounded were three 10th-grade boys from a group of students visiting from the Brittany region of France, and a woman who fell or plunged into the River Thames. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that because three of the victims were French, it had opened an investigation into attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. |
| Law enforcement officials said that the police were now focused on analyzing the background and the motive of the attacker. Roy Ramm, who spent nearly three decades in the Metropolitan Police and was commander of specialist operations, said that once officers had identified the attacker, they would be moving backward, using CCTV footage to track his movements throughout the day. | Law enforcement officials said that the police were now focused on analyzing the background and the motive of the attacker. Roy Ramm, who spent nearly three decades in the Metropolitan Police and was commander of specialist operations, said that once officers had identified the attacker, they would be moving backward, using CCTV footage to track his movements throughout the day. |
| Mr. Ramm said that another team would simultaneously be researching the assailant’s background and the background of his associates, and looking to see if he had ever been subject to surveillance or on watch lists. | Mr. Ramm said that another team would simultaneously be researching the assailant’s background and the background of his associates, and looking to see if he had ever been subject to surveillance or on watch lists. |
| Although the death toll was far lower, the attack brought to mind Islamic State attacks using vehicles in Berlin and in Nice, France. Part of the investigation in London, law enforcement officials said, would be focused on the car used by the assailant, a Hyundai Tucson, which has already offered up some clues: It was registered in Chelmsford, Essex, to the east of London, and may have been rented in Birmingham, one of the places where the police conducted raids overnight. | Although the death toll was far lower, the attack brought to mind Islamic State attacks using vehicles in Berlin and in Nice, France. Part of the investigation in London, law enforcement officials said, would be focused on the car used by the assailant, a Hyundai Tucson, which has already offered up some clues: It was registered in Chelmsford, Essex, to the east of London, and may have been rented in Birmingham, one of the places where the police conducted raids overnight. |
| Mr. Ramm said that the vehicle would be given a major forensic examination, including checks for fingerprints and DNA to identify anyone else who might have been in the vehicle. “This is a lot of work and a big test,” he said. | Mr. Ramm said that the vehicle would be given a major forensic examination, including checks for fingerprints and DNA to identify anyone else who might have been in the vehicle. “This is a lot of work and a big test,” he said. |
| Questions were already being raised as to how a knife-wielding attacker had been able to get so close to the houses of Parliament, the center of British democracy. Several members of Parliament asked how the assailant had been able to enter the area below the iconic Big Ben and called for the security gaps to be plugged. | Questions were already being raised as to how a knife-wielding attacker had been able to get so close to the houses of Parliament, the center of British democracy. Several members of Parliament asked how the assailant had been able to enter the area below the iconic Big Ben and called for the security gaps to be plugged. |
| Britain has one of the most sophisticated counterterrorism operations in Europe, but efforts to track extremists in the country have become harder in recent years, experts say. For years, the police had been able to keep close tabs on potential Islamist radicals and terrorists, including Anjem Choudary, one of the most outspoken and effective hate preachers in Britain, who for years was the public face of radical Islam, encouraging dozens of followers to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State and vowing to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque. | Britain has one of the most sophisticated counterterrorism operations in Europe, but efforts to track extremists in the country have become harder in recent years, experts say. For years, the police had been able to keep close tabs on potential Islamist radicals and terrorists, including Anjem Choudary, one of the most outspoken and effective hate preachers in Britain, who for years was the public face of radical Islam, encouraging dozens of followers to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State and vowing to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque. |
| The Home Office made support for the Islamic State a criminal offense in June 2014, when Mrs. May was home secretary, and experts on radicalism said that drove many Islamist extremists underground. | The Home Office made support for the Islamic State a criminal offense in June 2014, when Mrs. May was home secretary, and experts on radicalism said that drove many Islamist extremists underground. |
| Mobeen Azhar, a filmmaker who has made several documentaries on Islamist radicalism in Britain and who knows Mr. Choudary, said that the move to criminalize support for the Islamic State had undoubtedly prevented some vulnerable young people from coming under the influence of radical propaganda. But he added that the networks had also become more careful to avoid detection. | Mobeen Azhar, a filmmaker who has made several documentaries on Islamist radicalism in Britain and who knows Mr. Choudary, said that the move to criminalize support for the Islamic State had undoubtedly prevented some vulnerable young people from coming under the influence of radical propaganda. But he added that the networks had also become more careful to avoid detection. |
| “It used to be that radicals in London would meet in church halls or at takeaways in East London, or set up stalls in parks,” Mr. Azhar said. “Now these networks meet in white vans and spaces not known to police and have gone more underground, making them more difficult to track.” | “It used to be that radicals in London would meet in church halls or at takeaways in East London, or set up stalls in parks,” Mr. Azhar said. “Now these networks meet in white vans and spaces not known to police and have gone more underground, making them more difficult to track.” |