Mosque once a radical hotbed

FINSBURY: MAN ‘DROVE AT PEOPLE’ SAYS WITNESS

One man killed, ten injured in north London in horror attack in early hours.

London

Avan ploughed into pedestrians near a London mosque early yesterday, killing one man and injuring ten other people in what Prime Minister Theresa May said was “a potential terrorist attack”.

The 48-year-old driver was detained by members of the public and then arrested by police.

Muslim leaders said worshippers were targeted after leaving prayers near Finsbury Park mosque in north London.

Head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan, said: “Over the past weeks and months, Muslims have endured many incidents of Islamophobia and this is the most violent manifestation to date.”

Witness Abdiqadir Warra said the van “drove at people” and some of the victims were carried for several metres along the road.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was a “horrific terrorist attack”, calling it “deliberate” and aimed at “innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan”.

May was due to hold an emergency ministerial meeting to discuss the attack.

It comes after two deadly Islamist attacks this year that used vehicles to ram pedestrians – one earlier this month in the London Bridge area and a March attack in which a man drove a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge.

One witness, Abdul Rahman, told the BBC he saw the van “deliberately run over 10 or 15 people”. He said he and another man wrestled the suspect to the ground and held him down for 20 to 30 minutes before police arrived.

A police statement said “One man was pronounced dead at the scene ... eight people injured were taken to three separate hospitals.”

Two other people were treated at the scene for light injuries. Police said the male driver had also been taken to hospital as a precaution and would receive a mental health assessment.

“Due to the nature of this incident, extra policing resources have been deployed in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan,” the police statement said.

Finsbury Park mosque was once a notorious hub for radical Islamists. Its former imam, Abu Hamza was jailed for life in New York on terrorism charges in 2015.

He preached there from 1997 to 2003 before being jailed for inciting violence. He was later extradited to the US. – AFP