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| Police and forensic officers near the scene of an attack which has left one man confirmed dead and two people injured near Woolwich barracks in London Wednesday, May, 22, 2013. Scotland Yard said officers responded to reports of an assault Wednesday afternoon in the London neighbourhood of Woolwich. London Ambulance service said one man was found dead at the scene and two other men were taken to the hospital, with one in serious condition. |
LONDON (AP)
-- A man seen with bloody hands wielding a butcher knife after the
killing of a British soldier on the streets of London was described as a
convert to Islam who took part in demonstrations with a banned radical
group, two Muslim hard-liners said Thursday.
Police
raided houses in connection with the brazen slaying of the off-duty
soldier, identified as Lee Rigby, of the 2nd Battalion The Royal
Regiment of Fusiliers, who served in Afghanistan. In addition to the two
suspects who were hospitalized after being shot by police, authorities
said they had arrested a man and a woman, both 29, on suspicion of
conspiracy to murder.
Police would not say
whether it appeared Rigby had been targeted specifically because of his
military service. Although he was not in uniform at the time he was
killed, he was said by witnesses to be wearing a T-shirt for a British
veterans' charity.
Authorities have not
identified either of the two wounded suspects and have not said when
they would do so. Officials in Britain usually wait to name suspects
until charges have been filed.
Anjem Choudary,
the former head of the radical group al-Muhajiroun, told The Associated
Press that the man depicted in startling video that emerged after
Rigby's death was named Michael Adebolajo, a Christian who converted to
Islam around 2003 and took part in several demonstrations by the group
in London.
The BBC broadcast video from 2007 showing Adebolajo standing near Choudary at a rally.
Omar
Bakri Muhammad, who now lives in Lebanon but had been a radical Muslim
preacher in London, also said he recognized the man seen on TV as
Adebolajo and said he attended his London lectures in the early 2000s.
Bakri,
speaking from Lebanon, said he remembers Adebolajo as a "shy person"
who was keen to learn about Islam and asked interesting questions.
"He used to listen more than he spoke," Bakri said. "I was very surprised to learn that he is the suspect in the attack."
Mary
Warder, who has lived in the Woolwich area for more than 30 years, told
the AP said she had seen both of the suspects preaching on the streets.
Shopkeepers, however, said they couldn't remember seeing them.
The
two men suspected of killing the 25-year-old Rigby had been part of
previous investigations by security services, a British official said
Thursday, as investigators searched several locations and tried to
determine whether the men were part of a wider terrorist plot.
There also was no clear indication on when or where the suspects may have been radicalized.
Rigby,
the father of a 2-year-old boy, was slain Wednesday afternoon outside
the Royal Artillery Barracks in the Woolwich area of south London while
horrified bystanders watched in the busy city known for its decorum.
The
bizarre scene was recorded on witnesses' cellphones, with one of the
two suspects boasting of their exploits and warning of more violence as
the soldier lay on the ground. Holding bloody knives and a meat cleaver,
they waited for the arrival of police, who shot them in the legs,
according to a passerby who tried to save the dying soldier.
A
British government official said one of the two men tried to go to
Somalia to train or fight with the terror group al-Shabab. The official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
speak about the police investigation, would not say if the suspect had
been arrested or whether he had made any other trips to the country.
Citing
unidentified sources described as having "knowledge of British
jihadis," the BBC's "Newsnight" program reported that one of the
suspects in the attack was arrested last year on his way to joining
al-Shabab.
Prime Minister David Cameron vowed
that Britain would not be cowed by the horrific bloodshed, and that it
would reject "the poisonous narrative of extremism on which this
violence feeds." In Washington, President Barack Obama said the U.S.
"stands resolute with the United Kingdom" in the fight against violent
extremism.
There were few signs of alarm on
the streets of London, which has been hit by terrorist attacks during a
long confrontation with the Irish Republican Army and more recently, in
July 2005, by al-Qaida-inspired suicide bombings that killed 52
commuters.
"It's hateful, it's horrific and
upsetting. But it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference,"
Christian White, 43, said at King's Cross station, close to the site of
one of the 2005 bombings. "Londoners are used to living in a city where
life is complicated."
Even so, security was
increased at military barracks and installations in the capital, with
extra armed guards added in many cases. Police said extra patrols were
added at sensitive areas, including places of worship, transport hubs
and congested areas.
Both of the hospitalized
suspects had been part of previous terrorism investigations by Britain's
security services, according to a British official who spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the
police inquiry and cautioned that details could jeopardize future
trials.
It was unclear how recent the
investigations were, whether the men were loosely tied to other suspects
being investigated, or whether they themselves had been put under
surveillance, which could have included being watched by undercover
investigators or having their phone calls and emails intercepted.
Dramatic
video showed a black man - animated, hands stained with blood and
holding a meat cleaver - criticizing the British government and the
presence of U.K. troops in foreign lands.
Maajid
Nawaz, a former Islamist now with the London-based Quilliam
anti-extremism think tank in London, said the video and emerging details
indicated the men had been inspired by al-Qaida even though they may
not have been directed by any specific affiliate to attack the soldier.
"There
is always mood music playing before these attacks happen," Nawaz told
the AP. "In this instance, I'm not saying they are operationally linked
to al-Qaida, but these men clearly felt an affinity to this global
jihadist zeitgeist. And they wouldn't have had to have visited any
foreign countries for this ideology to have resonated with them."
Security
officials have been worried over the recent increase of men seeking
training and fighting opportunities in countries such as Syria, Somalia
and Yemen.
Dozens of British men and women are
said to have been radicalized by U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar
al-Awlaki, the militant leader who was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone
strike in Yemen.
A Twitter account used by
members of Somalia's al-Shabab militant group made a lengthy post
Thursday about the attack in Woolwich.
The
Twitter account referenced the video in which the bloodied suspect
called the attack "an eye for an eye." The tweet said the British army
had a "woeful record of abuses" against Muslims worldwide.
"We
swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you," the man in
the video declared, complaining about British troops fighting Muslims.
"We must fight them as they fight us."
The
camera then panned away to show a body lying on the ground. This video,
with its venomous threats, may provide the lasting image of the tragedy.
Police
in the eastern England county of Lincolnshire said a property was
searched in connection to the Woolwich attack. Police said a search
warrant had been obtained but would not provide details. Police were
also scouring the attack site for further clues.
There
also was a police raid on a public housing complex in east Greenwich
just outside of London thought to be related to the investigation.
One
man was arrested Wednesday outside a mosque in Essex after he threw a
smoke bomb, police said. He was also found to be carrying knives and is
expected in court Friday. No one was injured.
Separately,
police in Kent said they charged a 45-year-old man with religiously
aggravated criminal damage and burglary. The man, Andrew John Grindlay,
was arrested Wednesday night.
There were no
incidents reported at London mosques. Police called for calm and said
there were 1,200 officers deployed on the streets.
Britain's
security threat remained the same since the killing, but security
officials said they were reviewing preparations for the June 17-18 Group
of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Obama and other world leaders are
expected to attend.
Police defended the speed
of the department's response to the Woolwich attack. Assistant
Commissioner Simon Byrne said police were on the scene nine minutes
after receiving the first emergency call. Once it became clear that guns
were involved, firearms officers were called and arrived 14 minutes
after the first call to police, he said.
The
Ministry of Defense said Rigby, who joined the army in 2006, was a
machine gunner posted in Cyprus, Afghanistan and Germany before becoming
a recruiter who assisted with duties in the Tower of London.
Nicknamed
"Riggers," he was an important member of the Corps of Drums who was
known for his good nature and wit, and his love of his hometown soccer
team, Manchester United, according to fellow soldiers.
"He
was one of the battalion's great characters, always smiling and always
ready to brighten the mood with his fellow Fusiliers. He was easily
identified ... on parade by the huge smile on his face and how proud he
was to be a member of the Drums," Warrant Officer Class 1 Ned Miller
said in a statement issued by the ministry.
Rigby's
family said he would "do anything for anybody," always looked out for
his sisters and took a "big brother" role with everyone he met.
"He
was a loving son, husband, father, brother, and uncle, and a friend to
many," the family said in a statement issued by the ministry.
