Alleged attacker was known radical Islamist

One of the men believed to have carried out the deadly weekend attack was a known radical Islamist.

LONDON » One of the men believed to have carried out the deadly weekend attack in central London was a known radical Islamist who was filmed unfurling a black flag resembling the one used by the Islamic State group and raised the suspicion of a neighbor after allegedly trying to lure local youngsters to join his jihadist campaign.

On Monday, British police identified that man, Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born Briton, as one of the assailants, saying he was known to authorities, though they had no evidence he was planning an attack. They identified a second attacker who had not aroused suspicion prior to Saturday’s rampage that killed seven people.

As details about Butt emerged, however, they prompted questions of whether he could have been stopped sooner.

He had appeared in a documentary, “The Jihadis Next Door,” that aired on British television last year. Neighbors identified Butt from the film’s footage Monday, pointing to a scene in which he is shown participating in a provocative prayer session at Regents Park, near London’s biggest mosque helping to display a black flag covered in white Arabic lettering similar to the one used by the Islamic State group, which took responsibility for the attack.

Butt is also seen in the film sprawling on the lawn and nodding as he listens to a sermon in which the speaker tells those gathered: “This is not the real life, my dear brothers. This is a passing time for us.”

Butt’s apparent zealotry led one neighbor, Erica Gasparri, to contact police about 18 months ago. The 42-year-old mother of three was working at a local school when she noticed Butt, who was also known as Abu Mohamed, meeting with local children and trying to draw them into his radicalism.

“It was wrong what he was doing,” Gasparri said. “He kept talking about the Islamic State. I got very angry.”

Salaudeen Jailabdeen, who lived near Butt, said the alleged assailant had once been ejected from a local mosque for interrupting an imam. Another neighbor, Michael Mimbo, said he saw the van used in the attack near his home on Saturday, but didn’t see who was behind the wheel. He said the vehicle was seen going the wrong way down a one-way street and was later seen speeding off, followed closely by a small red car.

The second alleged attacker was identified by police as Rachid Redouane, who alternately used the surname Elkhdar, and claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. He used two different birthdates that would make him either 25 or 30, authorities said.

Police have not yet released the identity of the third person involved in carrying out the attack on London Bridge, where the van swerved into pedestrians, and in nearby Borough Market, where the knife-wielding assailants slashed and stabbed anyone in their path. Besides the dead, dozens more were wounded by the men, who wore fake suicide vests to make themselves look even more imposing.

All three were ultimately shot and killed by police. Twelve others taken into custody have since been released.

All of it happened in just eight minutes, and though police have won praise for their response, it has led to a political fight certain to dominate the waning days before Thursday’s national elections.

The campaign roared back into public view Monday after a one-day hiatus, with Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn trading blame over one another’s security stances.

ALASTAIR GRANT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A floral tribute in the London Bridge area following Saturday’s attack in London, Monday. Police arrested several people and are widening their investigation after a series of attacks described as terrorism killed several people and injured more than...