UK festive market attack alert after French terror
ARMED police were out in force across Britain’s high streets and Christmas markets yesterday amid fears of a fresh terror attack in the wake of the Strasbourg atrocity in France.
Islamic State terrorists have constantly tried to target British shoppers by calling for a repeat of the 2016 Berlin Christmas market slaughter.
Yesterday sickening images being circulated online by IS fanatics depicted a Father Christmas figure kneeling before a bleeding cross as a jihadist prepares to execute him.
The threats have failed to deter shoppers with thousands flocking into city centres to give the struggling high street a boost.
In Leeds’s main The Headrow shopping street, police on horseback and officers carrying automatic weapons mingled with crowds. There was similar tight security at the city’s German-themed Christmas market and at the city’s train station.
This scene was replicated in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, throughout London and in Newcastle upon Tyne, where a terror arrest was made by armed police on Tuesday morning. Last night a 33-year-old Asian man continued to be quizzed by counter-terrorism officers over allegations that he was planning to launch a lone-wolf attack on UK soil.
In Leeds, shopper Kate Hill, 45, said she would not be deterred by the threat.
She said: “Seeing these policeman in body armour and with guns is a bit disconcerting but I guess it’s vital.
“It makes you stop and think about the reason for their presence but I guess it is reassuring that they are about.
“The city is packed with shoppers on a Wednesday, so it’s not putting most people off doing their Christmas shopping”.
Last night IS supporters were boasting that the Strasbourg attack, in which three people were killed and the killer escaped, was carried out “days after our threats”.
Rita Katz, director of SITE – an organisation which tracks the online activity of terrorist organisations – tweeted that IS supporters were telling others to “rejoice” and “give good news” after the shooting.
IS warned: “Do not leave your home because we are thirsty for your blood.”