A man believed to be soldier has been beheaded in a barbaric attack by two men on a street outside Woolwich army barracks in South East London. In the shocking scene, one the killers addressed witnesses saying "you will never be safe".
ITV news, which has shocking footage of one of the attackers running down the road carrying a knife in blood soaked hands has also reported that one of the men said to astonished bystanders who witnessed the attack: “We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. 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."
An eyewitness who got off a bus just as the incident happened told how as he filmed the incident, one of the assailants approached.
The man was carrying a machete and a gun in Woolwich, south east London.
The eyewitness said that he gave the gun to his friend, and said: "I just want to talk to you with your camera". He went on to say they had carried out the attack "because David Cameron, (the) British government sent troops in Arabic country".
They wanted to give a message to the British government. That's what they say to me when they were talking to my camera - Eyewtiness"They wanted to give a message to the British government," the witness said. "That's what they say to me when they were talking to my camera."
He said he was surprised that they did not try to make a quick escape: "They do this publicly to give it some message... They didn't go anywhere. Most of the time, when you see the crime, the person starts running becasue they dont want to be arrested."
He also described how as the attack on John Wilson Street happened, two women shouted "stop it, stop it", and the attackers apologised, saying women shouldn't be allowed to see what was happening - only men.
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One of the witness to the tragedy, called James and who was one of the first people to call the police, told LBC radio, that initially they thought the two men were trying to help the one who was on the ground.
"We thought the two guys were helping him. We then saw two kitchen knives like you would find in a butchers shop, they were hacking at this poor guy literally. We thought they were trying to remove organs or something. One of the black guys then shouted to me and my partner to get in the car. I then moved the car down the road and dialed 999."
James continued that they there was no way a human could take what they did to him. They then dragged the dead man into the middle of the road and then stood on the pavement waving the gun about, as if they were proud of what they had done.
He said that some women bystanders were trying to shield the dead man from further attacks and that the men could have killed them if they had wanted to.
James continued that the attackers had the opportunity to run away if they had wanted but they were apparently waiting for something. When the police turned up it was apparent why as both men went charging towards them.
Armed police who responded to the incident have reportedly shot and injured the attackers, one of them seriously.
Officers were called to the area at around 2:20 pm and the surrounding area has been cordoned off by police.
Police
officers guard a cordon set up around a crime scene where one man was
killed was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013 (Reuters /
Stefan Wermuth)
A spokesman from Scotland Yard said, “Officers have responded to an incident in John Wilson Street at 2:20 pm today. We believe at this stage that officers were called to reports of an assault."
The London Air Ambulance also confirmed that a doctor and a paramedic were sent to the scene at 14:27 pm.
A Muslim resident told Reuters that "this has nothing to do with Islam. Its heartbreaking, its heartbreaking."
Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that he had asked the Home Secretary Theresa May to chair a meeting of Cobra, the government’s emergency committee and that she had requested updates from MI5 and the Metropolitan Police and the government were treating the incident as suspected terrorist attack.
The Defense Secretary Phillip Hammond and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson have also arrived at the Cobra meeting.
The meeting lasted just under an hour and heard that security has been tightened at Woolwich barracks and increased at all London barracks, Downing Street said, the Mirror reports.
Cameron said at a press conference with French President Francoise Hollande that there were "strong indications that it is a terrorist incident."
Roy Ramm, a former Scotland Yard commander of specialist operations, told the BBC News Channel that the police will be looking into the background of the two men in custody to try and determine if they were part of an organized network or acting alone.
The mayor of London Boris Johnson said that security has been stepped up at military installations across the country and that London's "incredibly resilient" communities had been here before and would pull together.
A
police forensics investigator (C) approaches a crime scene where one
man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013 (Reuters /
Stefan Wermuth)
Police
officers man a cordoned off area in Woolwich, east London, on May 22,
2013, following an incident in which a man was killed and two others
seriously injured (AFP Photo / Leon Neal)
Flowers lie near a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013 (Reuters / Stefan Wermuth)
A
police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was
killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013 (Reuters / Stefan
Wermuth)
A
police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was
killed in Woolwich, southeast London M
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