Authorities made 12 arrests and conducted exhaustive searches across an East London
neighborhood Sunday after a rampage that left seven dead,
dozens more injured and once again brought chaos and fear to the streets of America's closest European ally.
Three suspected terrorists also were killed in Saturday night's attack,
and 21 of the 48 injured remained in critical condition late Sunday.
The attack at iconic London Bridge and a nearby market was the third terrorist
strike in Britain in less than three months.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks,
the SITE intelligence group said Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said they heard the men shout "this is for Allah,” British media reported.
"It is time to say enough is enough," Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday.
She called for tougher measures to contain Islamic extremism,
saying the recent attacks are not directly linked, but “terrorism breeds terrorism.”
“They are bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred,
sows division and promotes sectarianism,” she said.
“It is an ideology that claims our Western values and freedom,
democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam."
May also called for international agreements to regulate cyberspace
and deny terrorism the "safe space it needs to breed."
Twitter and Google were among major tech firms issuing statements saying
they were working to deny terrorists an online voice.
Police said a van plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge,
then drove to the nearby Borough Market where the attackers went on a stabbing rampage.
Armed officers confronted three suspects,
who police said were wearing "hoax" suicide vests, at the market.
Mark Rowley, head of counterterrorism for Metropolitan Police,
said eight officers firing about 50 shots killed all three attackers.
One member of the public suffered a gunshot wound,
but the injuries were not believed to be critical, he said.
"The situation these officers were confronted with was critical,
a matter of life and death," Rowley said. "Three armed men,
wearing what appeared to be suicide belts, had already attacked and killed members
of the public and had to be stopped immediately."
Rowley lauded the courage of officers who ran toward the attack as it unfolded.
"I am humbled by the bravery of an officer who will rush toward a potential suicide bomber
thinking only of protecting others," he said.
Counterterrorism police units made the arrests Sunday during a sweep
in the suburban community of Barking,
and more homes in the area were being searched, Rowley said.
The alleged connection to the attack was not revealed.
Rowley said investigators were working to learn more about the attackers,
their connections and whether they were assisted by others not at the scene.
"We will work relentlessly to establish the facts," he said.
Some of the 48 wounded and taken to local hospitals had life-threatening injuries,
and 36 remained hospitalized late Sunday, police said. Among them was a British
Transport Police officer in stable condition after showing
"enormous courage in the face of danger, as did many others who were at the scene
and rushed to help," Chief Constable Paul Crowther said".
An off-duty London police officer also was injured.
