London terror attack: What we know about the assailants so far
DETAILS are emerging about the attackers responsible for murdering seven people and leaving 21 more critically injured in central London on Saturday evening.
Neighbours of one London attacker reported him to police
On Saturday evening, three men ploughed a van into pedestrians walking across London Bridge before storming Borough Market nearby to indiscriminately stab and kill innocent civilians in cold blood.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming via a statement from its Amaq agency that a “detachment” of jihadis carried out the assault.
According to reports, one of the extremists lived in Barking in east London, and had recently hired the van they used to begin their attack.
A friend told the BBC Asian Network he had reported the attacker to the anti-terror hotline after becoming alarmed that the man was becoming radicalised while watching YouTube videos of the infamous American hate preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril.
But according to the friend, the man was never arrested.
At the Elizabeth Fry flats in King’s Road, where a number of arrests were made on Sunday morning, residents said they recognised the attacker from a photograph and said he was of Middle Eastern or Pakistani origin.
The residents said the man had children and had lived in the area for a number of years.
One neighbour, Italian mother-of-three Erica Gasparri, claimed she had reported him to police two years ago after he began “brainwashing” her children at a local park.
Armed police raid building near London Bridge following attack
She said she had confronted him after two of her children came home and said: “Mummy I want to become a Muslim.”
According to reports, the attacker had worked for a branch of the fast food chain KFC before leaving two years ago to work for the London Underground.
All three of the attackers wore what appeared to be suicide vests during the attacks, but these were later discovered to be fakes designed to deter police retaliation.
They shouted “this is for Allah” while moving through pubs and restaurants in Borough Market armed with 12-inch knives.
Addresses in Barking and East Ham were raided in connection with the attack.