London attackers were chef, clerk and ‘suspicious’ Italian

LONDON (AP): DETAILS EMERGED yesterday of the three London Bridge attackers: a Pakistan-born failed customer service clerk with links to one of Europe’s most prolific hate preachers, a Moroccan pastry chef whose partner said he once went swimming rather than see his daughter, and an Italian man who told authorities he “wanted to be a terrorist”.

At least two of the men were known to British intelligence and law-enforcement officials, raising questions about whether anything could have been done to stop the attack, which began Saturday when the men drove a rented van into a crowd and then leaped out to stab people who crossed their paths. Seven were killed and nearly 50 wounded. All three of the attackers were shot dead by police.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was fair to ask how the attackers “slipped through our net”.

As the investigation expanded to look at how the men knew one another and whether they were part of a larger conspiracy, Pakistani intelligence authorities swooped yesterday into the town of Jhelum, where Khurum Butt lived until the time he was seven, when he moved to Britain.

RECRUITING FOLLOWERS

During his time in Britain, Butt once worked for Transport of London as a customer service clerk but failed his probation after a few months on the job. He also worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and used a gym in East London. In his spare time, he tried to recruit followers to the Islamic State group — a practice that prompted a neighbour to report him to the police in 2015.

He was one of about 3,000 suspects who were known to British authorities but not part of 500 active investigations.

Police identified the second attacker as 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, also known as Rachid Elkhdar, who claimed to have both Moroccan and Libyan roots and worked as a pastry chef in Ireland, where he had lived in the past five years as well the East London suburb of Dagenham.

The third attacker was identified as Youssef Zaghba, a 22year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent who was reportedly working in a London restaurant.