Sydney, June 5: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday the US and its allies would continue to fight against IS extremists and would not be scared by attacks against the West by the Islamic State group.
British PM Theresa May has said Britain must be tougher in stamping out Islamist extremism after attackers killed at least seven people by ramming a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbing revelers in nearby bars. IS, which is losing territory in Syria and Iraq to an offensive backed by a US-led coalition, said its militants were responsible for the attack, the group’s media agency Amaq said in a statement monitored in Cairo.
One French national and one Canadian were among those killed. At least 48 people were wounded in the attack, including at least one Australian. “Well, we don’t scare,” Mattis said. “We are united, as I said, in our resolve, even against an enemy that thinks by hurting us they can scare us,” he added, appearing for the first time outside the United States.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the world would likely see more such attacks, and that it was a problem that the global community must be vigilant and determined and defiant. “It is a global phenomenon and it has to be dealt with globally,” Turnbull said.
Reuters
