World leaders stand with UK after London attack

PARIS (AFP) — World leaders have unanimously condemned the attack in the heart of London by a man who was shot dead by armed police, with many saying they stand with Britain.

At least four people were killed and 30 hospitalized in the attack outside parliament Wednesday when a man mowed down pedestrians with a car then leapt out and stabbed a police officer.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany stood “firmly and resolutely alongside Britons in the struggle against all forms of terrorism” while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier added: “In these grave moments, we Germans feel very close to the British people.”

President Francois Hollande sent a message of “support to the British people” after the attack, in which three French high school students were wounded.

The lights of the Eiffel Tower were switched off at midnight in a tribute to the victims.

Hollande said France could identify with Britain’s pain after a series of jihadist assaults on its own soil.

“France, which has been hit so hard in recent times, knows what the British people are suffering today.”

The White House pledged “the full support of the U.S. government in responding to the attack and bringing those to justice who are responsible,” spokesman Sean Spicer said.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the attack left him “highly emotional.”

In Brussels to commemorate the first anniversary of attacks on the airport and a metro station, Juncker said: “The fact that exactly on the same day something similar hap- pened in London, and to London, is really putting me in the situation of someone who does not have... enough words to express how I am deeply feeling.”

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: “Europe stands firm with the U.K. against terror and ready to help.”

“The forces of terror are acting more and more cunningly and cynically,” President Vladimir Putin said in a statement, adding that “a real uniting of the efforts of all the members of the international community” was needed to combat extremism.