Press Trust of India
London, Dec 6: A machete-wielding man reportedly screaming “this is for Syria” stabbed three people at a London Underground train station before police used a stun gun to arrest him, an assault Scotland Yard described as a “terrorist incident”. The attack by the 29-year-old man at Leytonstone Tube station, about 10 km east of central London, came just days after Britain launched its first air strikes against terrorist targets inside Syria. Police were called to reports of people being attacked by a knifeman who was reportedly shouting “this is for Syria” at the station last evening.
In the attack, a 56-year-old man suffered knife wounds which were serious but not life-threatening while two other people sustained minor injuries. An amateur video footage of the scene showed passengers, some with children, running away as a man lies in a pool of blood in the ticket hall of the station. The attacker was pinned down by police officers armed with a Taser. When police first fired the Taser at the suspect it did not work, and the attacker was seen on video still to be standing. The officers then fired a Taser at the suspect again, which sent him crashing to the floor.
Police said that initial reports indicated that the man had also threatened other bystanders. The videos show some people in the tube station hurrying away when they realise a knife attacker is on the loose, while others take out phones and make video recordings and take photos. The Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command are investigating the incident. Meanwhile, a 45-year-old top fundraiser for the Islamic State terror group in the UK, placed under a strict counter-terrorism order, has reportedly fled the country to join extremists in Syria.
Bombing kills Yemeni governor
Sana’a (Yemen): A huge explosion killed the governor of Yemen’s southern Aden province and six of his bodyguards today, security officials said, in an attack that was later claimed by a local Islamic State affiliate. Gov Gaafar Mohamed Saad was traveling to his office when the explosion struck his convoy in the southern port city. Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the explosion. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. Meanwhile, at least 39 people were killed Sunday in airstrikes and clashes in Iraq’s Anbar province. US-led coalition airstrikes pounded three Islamic State (IS) targets in Albu Haiyat area, killing 18 IS militants, a security source told Xinhua news agency.