London cleaver attack could be act of terror, Prime Minister Cameron says

LONDON – Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent Islamic rant to bystanders, leading Prime Minister David Cameron to cut short a diplomatic trip in Paris to deal with what he described as a likely terrorist attack.

If confirmed as an act of terror, it would mark the first fatality from such an attack in Britain since 52 people were killed in a series of four coordinated suicide bombings targeting London’s transit system on July 7, 2005. Both suspects in Wednesday’s attack– who made no attempt to escape and shouted statements at bystanders while they waited for authorities to arrive— were wounded by police while being taken into custody and were being treated at local hospitals. At least one of the men was in serious condition.

Speaking in Paris, Prime Minister David Cameron said there were “strong indications that this is a terrorist incident.” He was poised to chair a meeting of Britain’s national security committee on Thursday morning.
“The killing in Woolwich is truly shocking,” Cameron said, later adding, “we've had these sorts of attacks before in our country and we will never buckle in the face of them.”