Third London attacker named by police

The third assailant suspected of carrying out terrorist attacks in London was 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, UK police say.

Youssef Zaghba

Youssef Zaghba, the third attacker of the London attacks. Source: London Metropolitan Police

British police have named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London as Youssef Zaghba believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

Police said Zaghba, 22, had not been a subject of interest for them or for the MI5 domestic intelligence agency.

Earlier, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera had reported that Zaghba had been stopped at an Italian airport because authorities believed he was on his way to Syria, and that Italian officials had warned British counterparts about him.

In Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months, the three men rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night before running into the bustling Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people.

Police had named the other two attackers as Khuram Butt, 27, a British national born in Pakistan, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. Butt was previously known to security agencies and had appeared in a British TV documentary called "The Jihadis Next Door".

As these details have emerged, Prime Minister Theresa May has faced questions about her record overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.

The latest opinion poll on voting intentions, by Survation for ITV, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.

However, the consensus among pollsters remains that May's party, who have been in government since 2010, will win a majority.

Saturday's rampage followed a suicide bombing that killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester two weeks ago, and an attack in March when five people died after a car was driven into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.

All three of the London Bridge attackers were shot dead at the scene by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.

A nationwide minute of silence was held at 1000 GMT to honour all the victims.

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Published 6 June 2017 9:22pm
Updated 7 June 2017 6:44am
Source: AAP


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