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Graphic footage from ITV News shows a man with bloodied hands making
political statements
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A man has been killed in a machete attack and two suspects shot by
police in Woolwich, south-east London.
Prime Minister David Cameron said there were "strong indications that
it is a terrorist incident" and the UK would "never buckle" in the
face of such attacks.
Footage has emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and
making political statements.
There are unconfirmed reports that the dead man was a soldier.
Both French President Francois Hollande and MP Nick Raynsford said the
dead man had been a soldier at Woolwich barracks.
The footage shown on the ITV website shows a man, speaking to the
camera, saying: "We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an
eye, a tooth for a tooth."
He added: "I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but
in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be
safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you."
The incident took place before many witnesses
In developments since the attack, in John Wilson Street, the A205, at
14:20 BST:
Downing Street said Mr Cameron, who had been planning to stay in Paris
overnight after meeting the French president, would be returning to
the UK later on Wednesday
At a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cobra,
it was decided to tighten security at Woolwich and other barracks in
London
Both shot men were taken to hospital, one by air ambulance
One of the men is in a serious condition, the other is also being
treated for injuries
In a joint press conference, Mr Hollande said he wanted to express his
solidarity with the UK after the "murder of a British soldier", but Mr
Cameron did not confirm the victim had been a serviceman
The Ministry of Defence said it was urgently looking into reports the
incident had involved a soldier
Another Cobra meeting will be held on Thursday morning, chaired by Mr
Cameron
Home Secretary Theresa May said she had been briefed by the director
general of Security Service MI5, Andrew Parker, and Metropolitan
Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe on the "sickening and barbaric"
attack.
Mr Cameron said Britain had faced "these sort of attacks", adding: "We
will never buckle in the face of them.
"People across Britain, people in every community, I believe, will
utterly condemn this attack."
He expressed sympathy for the victim and his family, saying: "It is
the most appalling crime. We are obviously seeking, and the police are
urgently seeking, the full facts about this case."
One witness, identified only as James, said two men had attacked
another man, aged about 20, who was wearing a T-shirt of military
charity Help for Heroes.
"These two guys were crazed. They were just animals. They dragged him
from the pavement and dumped his body in the middle of the road and
left his body there," he told LBC radio.
He said after the "horrendous" attack, the two men, who were also in
their 20s, stood around, waving knives and a gun, and asked people to
take pictures of them "as if they wanted to be on TV or something".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Dominic Casciani
Home affairs correspondent
The case for this being a jihadist attack, following the ideology of
al-Qaeda, is compelling - even if the police won't yet say so
officially.
If it is, then it would be the first such incident leading to a death
of someone other than the perpetrator since the 2005 London suicide
bombings.
So the first task for ministers and officials is to assess the threat
to the public - are other attacks planned?
The official terrorism threat level is currently "substantial", which
means an attack is "a strong possibility".
If officials raise the level to "severe", that would mean they fear
another attack is highly likely.
If the victim is indeed a soldier, then that will be no surprise to
security chiefs.
Jihadists believe they are at war with the military because of its
role in the Afghanistan conflict and elsewhere.
The UK has previously uncovered three plots linked to possible terror
attacks on the armed forces, including a cell in 2007 which planned to
kidnap and behead a soldier in an Iraq-style hostage video.
Read more from Dominic
"They were oblivious to anything, they were more worried about having
their photo taken, running up and down the road," he said.
Witness Graham Wilders told the BBC he had arrived on the scene to
find a car crashed into a wall and a man on the ground.
"Two people were lying over him and I thought they were trying to
resuscitate him," he said.
But Mr Wilders said he had driven on to park his car, and when he had
returned another witness had told him the two men had been stabbing
the man on the ground.
Thomas, another witness who contacted the BBC, said: "I got there
minutes after it happened because you could hear gunshots from
Woolwich High Street.
"Basically two men carried out an axe attack on a young army cadet
walking along the street, by the looks of things the police responded
and then shot them in front of the public, at the same time I couldn't
really tell if the cadet was fatally or not hurt as police were
crowded around him."
According to senior Whitehall sources the people carrying out the
attack were heard to say: "Allahu Akbar [God is Great]", BBC political
editor Nick Robinson reported.
On Twitter, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the attack as
a "sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence".
Buckingham Palace says the Queen is concerned at the news of the
attack and is being kept informed.
Help for Heroes said the charity was "appalled to hear that a man,
believed to be a serving soldier, has been brutally murdered in
Woolwich today".
The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: "This is a truly
barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this
unreservedly. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family."
School lock-down
Mr Raynsford, the Woolwich and Greenwich MP, said he had spoken to
local police and understood a number of weapons had been seized at the
scene including a gun, knives, and a machete.
Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said two alleged
attackers had been shot by officers.
He said: "Police were called to reports of an assault... where one man
was being assaulted by two other men. A number of weapons were
reportedly being used in the attack, and this included reports of a
firearm.
"Officers including local Greenwich officers arrived at the scene, and
shortly after firearms officers arrived on the scene.
"On their arrival at the scene they found a man, who was later
pronounced dead.
Head teacher David Dixon describes seeing a body in the street and
hearing gunshots
"Two men, who we believe from early reports to have been carrying
weapons, were shot by police. They have both been taken to separate
London hospitals. They are receiving treatment for their injuries.
"I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns and
I would like to reiterate that we are investigating the
circumstances."