→See also: rv good faith edit, not really relevant, as this attack was not a bombing or in the USA |
Mohamed CJ (talk | contribs) →Alleged motive: remove section. We already have the motive mentioned in the quote from one of the attackers. |
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==Suspects== |
==Suspects== |
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One of the men has been confirmed as a [[Nigerian British|British citizen of Nigerian descent]], and the other is also believed to be British.<ref name=Suspects>{{cite news |url= http://news.sky.com/story/1094560/woolwich-terror-murder-suspect-named |title=Woolwich Terror Murder Suspect Named |work=news.sky.com |date=23 May 2013 |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref> One man has been named as Michael Adeboloja, a 28-year-old, born in Lambeth, London, though of Nigerian descent.<ref name=Suspects/> He studied sociology at the [[University of Greenwich]] and converted from [[Christianity]] to [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://rt.com/news/cameron-london-woolwich-attack-678/ |title=Woolwich killer identified as 28-year-old Islam convert of Nigerian descent – media — RT News |work=rt.com |date=May 23, 2013 |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/woolwich-attack-one-suspect-named-as-michael-adeboloja/story-fni0xs63-1226649517295 |title=Woolwich attack: One suspect named as Michael Adeboloja |work=dailytelegraph.com.au |year=2013 [last update] |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref> Both men were known to British security services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22634468|title=Woolwich attack: Suspects known to security services|date=23 May 2013|accessdate=23 May 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> |
One of the men has been confirmed as a [[Nigerian British|British citizen of Nigerian descent]], and the other is also believed to be British.<ref name=Suspects>{{cite news |url= http://news.sky.com/story/1094560/woolwich-terror-murder-suspect-named |title=Woolwich Terror Murder Suspect Named |work=news.sky.com |date=23 May 2013 |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref> One man has been named as Michael Adeboloja, a 28-year-old, born in Lambeth, London, though of Nigerian descent.<ref name=Suspects/> He studied sociology at the [[University of Greenwich]] and converted from [[Christianity]] to [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://rt.com/news/cameron-london-woolwich-attack-678/ |title=Woolwich killer identified as 28-year-old Islam convert of Nigerian descent – media — RT News |work=rt.com |date=May 23, 2013 |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/woolwich-attack-one-suspect-named-as-michael-adeboloja/story-fni0xs63-1226649517295 |title=Woolwich attack: One suspect named as Michael Adeboloja |work=dailytelegraph.com.au |year=2013 [last update] |accessdate=23 May 2013}}</ref> Both men were known to British security services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22634468|title=Woolwich attack: Suspects known to security services|date=23 May 2013|accessdate=23 May 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> |
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=== Alleged motive === |
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The BBC reported that the "case for this being a jihadist attack, following the ideology of [[Al-Qaeda]] is compelling."<ref name='BBC'/> ''Channel 4 News'' broadcast video footage of the alleged attackers, filmed by observers prior to the arrival of the police, in which they recited the Arabic Islamic phrase "Allahu Akbar,"<ref name="washingtontimes1"/> and apologising that women had witnessed the attack.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bloodied London Attacker Speaks To Camera After Beheading: ‘You People Will Never Be Safe’|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bloodied-london-attacker-speaks-to-camera-after-beheading-you-people-will-never-be-safe/}}</ref><ref name=ITV-news>{{cite news|title=Chilling video of London attacker explaining machete attack on reported soldier|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gzh7axsjFo|accessdate=22 May 2013|date=22 May 2013}}</ref> |
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==Reactions== |
==Reactions== |
Revision as of 15:27, 23 May 2013
51°29′19″N 0°03′45″E / 51.4885°N 0.06255°E
2013 Woolwich attack | |
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Location | Woolwich, Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England, United Kingdom |
Date | 22 May 2013 14:20 BST (UTC+01:00) |
Weapons | Machete,Meat Cleavers, Pistol Gun and Vauxhall car |
Deaths | 1 (victim) |
Injured | 2 (suspects) |
On 22 May 2013, a British soldier was murdered on a street in Woolwich in southeast London.[2][3] Two men carrying knives and a meat cleaver spoke to passers-by about the attack in terms thought to relate to jihadism.[4][5] The dead soldier had been dragged into the road after being run down by a car, and was later attended to by at least two female passers-by, including a Cub Scouts leader who confronted one of the men.[6] The two men were later shot by police and were taken to hospital in serious conditions.[4] One of the men has been confirmed as a British citizen of Nigerian descent, and the other is also believed to be British.[7] Politicians and Muslim leaders condemned the attack.[8]
Attack
The attack occurred at 14:20 in Artillery Place, near its junction with John Wilson Street, part of the South Circular Road (A205) in Woolwich. A British man, who was reported to be a soldier in his 20s and wearing a "Help for Heroes" t-shirt, is believed to have been deliberately hit by a Vauxhall car,[9] then attacked by two black men with knives and a meat cleaver.[4][5] Women later stood over the body of the man, trying to protect him from further attack.[9] The attackers, also in their 20s, later stood around, waving knives and a gun, and asked people to take pictures of them. Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, a passenger on a passing bus, was one of the first people on the scene. While the two men were awaiting a police response, Loyau-Kennett tended to the victim, who later died. She engaged in a conversation with the attackers, one of whom said to her: "We want to start a war in London tonight." She asked the men to hand over their weapons, which they refused.[10] One of the attackers carrying a machete later said on camera:[11]
The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British solidiers, and this British soldier is one, is a eye for a eye and a tooth for a tooth. By Allah, we swear by the Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. So what if we want to live by the sharia in Muslim lands. Why does that mean you must follow us and chase us and call us extremists and kill us? Rather you are extreme. You the ones. When you drop a bomb, do you think it hits one person, or rather your bomb wipes out a whole family. This is the reality. By the way if I saw your mother today with a bucket I would help her up the stairs. This is my nature. But we are forced by the Qur'an in Sura at-Tauba [Chapter 9 of the Koran], through many, many ayah [verses] throughout the Koran that [say] we must fight them as they fight us, a eye for a eye and a tooth for a tooth. I apologize that women had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your governments. They don’t care about you. Do you think David Cameron is gonna get caught in the street when we start busting our guns? Do you think the politicians are going to die? No it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so we ca.., so you can all live in peace. Leave our lands and you will live in peace. That's all I have to say. Allah's peace and blessings be upon Muhammad ... [sic]
The attackers waited for 15 to 20 minutes for armed police to arrive and reportedly danced over the body, while one of the men asked passengers on a bus to take photographs of him.[9] When armed police arrived, the man with the machete charged at police and was shot by a female officer, while the other did the same with a gun and was also felled by police marksmen.[9] Channel 4 News had broadcast footage showing the two perpetrators having shouted "Allahu Akbar".[12] Greenwich and Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford said that the victim was a soldier at the nearby Royal Artillery Barracks.[4] He also said: "The situation is clearly a very very serious one indeed. One individual is dead and two others are seriously injured and apparently in hospital." The Guardian newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was frustrated with the comment as it would have preferred to have told the family of the victim before the media.[13] The attack took place 300 to 400 metres (980 to 1,310 ft) from the barracks perimeter.[5]
A gun, knives and a machete were later seized at the scene. Police officers, including firearms officers who arrived later, were at the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by local Greenwich police.[4]
Aftermath
In addition to condemning the attack, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for calm and a "measured response" while adding "we have met with community representatives, and extra officers remain on duty there tonight. Across London our officers are in contact with their communities too." Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford later issued a statement that read: "I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns, and I would like to reiterate that we are investigating what has taken place today. ... I am asking people to remain calm, and avoid unnecessary speculation."[13]
Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a visit to Paris to chair a COBRA meeting.[5] The Ministry of Defence issued a statement saying that it was urgently investigating the incident. Home Secretary Theresa May subsequently chaired a meeting of the COBRA committee.[14] The COBRA meeting was attended by the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick and other unnamed members of the intelligence agencies.[13]
After Cameron's arrival a second COBRA meeting was held, following which he said:
This country will be absolutely resolute in its stand against extremism and terror. This action was a betrayal of Islam and the Muslim communities that give so much to our country. We will defeat violent extremism by standing together. We will not rest until we know every detail. [The attackers told Ingrid Loyau-Kennett that] they wanted to start a war in London and she replied, 'you are going to lose, it is you against many. She speaks for all of us.
At the same time Johnson said that the people of London could go about their daily business routinely.[15]
After the English Defence League called on its supporters to mobilise,[14] the same evening its members staged a protest at Woolwich Arsenal station in which bottles were thrown at police. Individuals were also arrested in two separate incidents at mosques in Essex and Kent. Speaking in response to the incidents, Julie Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Britain expressed fears the far-right would use the attack as a way of creating community divisions.[16]
Investigation
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said that it would investigate the incident as per normal circumstances. The IPCC investigate any incident in which police discharge a weapon.[13]
Suspects
One of the men has been confirmed as a British citizen of Nigerian descent, and the other is also believed to be British.[7] One man has been named as Michael Adeboloja, a 28-year-old, born in Lambeth, London, though of Nigerian descent.[7] He studied sociology at the University of Greenwich and converted from Christianity to Islam.[17][18] Both men were known to British security services.[19]
Reactions
Queen Elizabeth II was said to be "concerned" by the report of the attack, and is being kept informed. She is due to visit the Royal Woolwich Barracks on 31 May, a trip that had been planned before the attack.[13] Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the attack and said that Britain would be united,[4] as did Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.[20] Home Secretary Theresa May described the attacks as "sickening and barbaric."[21] Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband.[22][14] The Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the attack as a "sickening, deluded, and unforgivable act of violence".[4] He also said that it was "overwhelmingly likely" to have been a terror attack.[14]
Respect MP George Galloway wrote that "This sickening atrocity in London is exactly what we are paying the same kind of people to do in Syria"[13] UKIP leader Nigel Farage asked for calm amongst communities and said that he hopes this was an isolated incident.[23] British National Party leader Nick Griffin posted a series of Twitter posts blaming "mass immigration" for the attack and calling for a protest rally in Woolwich.[24]
Muslim leaders were also united in their clear opposition to the attack:[8] the Muslim Council of Britain said the attack "has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly";[4] the head of the Ramadhan Foundation Mohammed Shafiq also condemned the attack and added that "London and our nation will come together and will not be divided. The terrorists will never win and succeed in their evil plans";[13] and the director of Faith Matters and co-ordinator of the government-backed anti-Islamophobic project "Tell MAMA" said: "We as the Muslim community will work against anyone who promotes such hatred."[13] Christian leader and Bishop of Woolwich the Rt. Rev. Dr Michael Ipgrave said on the day of the attack: "I am deeply saddened and distressed to hear of the incident in John Wilson Street this afternoon...St Mary Magdalene Church, Greenlaw Street will be open from 7.30pm this evening for those who want to pray and reflect on this tragic incident."[13] Help for Heroes said they were "appalled to hear that a man, believed to be a serving soldier, has been brutally murdered in Woolwich today."[4]
Baroness Neville-Jones, a former security minister and chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee, and Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Army commander, said the security services need to focus on the “inspiration” that comes from internet hate preaching. Neville-Jones told the BBC Radio Four's Today programme that internet hate preaching could have inspired the two attackers and that "what we shouldn’t forget is that even if there is nobody else behind it one of the things which runs through the scene at the moment is the inspiration that comes from internet hate preaching and jihadist rhetoric and this is a very, very serious problem now." [25]
See also
- 2008 Exeter bombing, an Islamist attempted attack
- 7 July 2005 London bombings, Islamist-perpetrated attacks
- 21 July 2005 London bombings, an Islamist attempted attack
- 1983 Royal Artillery Barracks bombing
References
- ^ Sandra Laville, Nick Hopkins (22 May 2013). "Woolwich attack: lone wolf and jihadist theories will occupy security forces". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich attack: Killed man 'was soldier'". BBC News. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ "Woolwich attack victim confirmed as serving soldier". Ministry of Defence, Prime Ministers Office, Home Office. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Woolwich machete attack leaves man dead". BBC News Online. 22 May 2013accessdate=22 May 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ a b c d Dodd, Vikram (22 May 2013). "Man killed in deadly terror attack in London street". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Conal Urquhart (23 May 2013}). "Woolwich attack: interview with Ingrid Loyau-Kennett". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ a b c "Woolwich Terror Murder Suspect Named". news.sky.com. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ a b "PM and Muslim leaders unite to condemn attack". thesun.co.uk. 23 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d Sandra Laville, Shiv Malik and Ben Quinn (22 May 2013). "Woolwich killing: horror on John Wilson Street". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Duffin, Claire (22 May 2013), "Mum talked down Woolwich terrorists who told her: 'We want to start a war in London tonight'", The Telegraph
- ^ Mark Durie (23 May 2013). "The Woolwich Killing: "We must fight them as they fight us."". Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "London terror suspects shout 'Allahu Akbar' and machete man to death".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul Owen and Conal Urquhart (22 May 2013). "Woolwich attack: government convenes emergency meeting – live". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d "'Soldier' hacked to death in London". Al Jazeera English. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "UK: Soldier's murder may be terror-related - Europe". Al Jazeera English. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Ross Lydall. "Woolwich killing: plea for calm as mosques are targeted and English Defence League clash with police - Crime - News - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich killer identified as 28-year-old Islam convert of Nigerian descent – media — RT News". rt.com. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich attack: One suspect named as Michael Adeboloja". dailytelegraph.com.au. 2013 [last update]. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|year=
(help) - ^ "Woolwich attack: Suspects known to security services". BBC News. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "'Shootings' and 'machete attack' in south east London: live". Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "As it happened - Woolwich attack". Retrieved 22 May 2013
- ^ "Woolwich attack: government convenes emergency meeting – live updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Ukip leader Nigel Farage says he hopes and believes Woolwich attack is 'isolated' incident".
- ^ Sam Jones, Ben Quinn and Conal Urquhart. "Woolwich attack prompts fears of backlash against British Muslims | UK news | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ Dominiczak, Peter. "Woolwich attack: We must tackle hate preaching over the internet, security experts say". Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2013.