Hevnangrep i London: Flere muslimer kjørt ned utenfor Finsbury-moskéen

En mann i en varebil kjørte ned muslimer som kom ut av Finsbury-moskeen søndag kveld. En person er nå meldt drept og åtte er skadd. Det virker som et hevnangrep.

Statsminister Theresa May sier politiet behandler påkjørselen som “et mulig terrorangrep”.

https://youtu.be/cAdxWESUoIs

Sjåføren ble fastholdt av noen muslimer inntil politiet kom og tok hånd om ham. Det skal være en hvit mann med mange tatoveringer. Ifølge ett vitne ropte han at han ønsket å drepe alle muslimer. Abdulrahman Saleh Alamoudi holdt på å hjelpe en eldre person som hadde falt, da varevognen kom mot dem:

“I think at least eight or 10 people got injured. Luckily I managed to escape. And then the guy came out of his van and I got him.

“He was screaming, he was saying, ‘I’m going to kill all Muslims, I’m going to kill all Muslims’. He was throwing punches.

“Then we managed to get him on the floor. Then he was saying, ‘Kill me, kill me’. I said, ‘We are not going to kill you. Why did you do that?’ He wouldn’t say anything.”

Salah Alamoudi said eight people were hit.

He said they had to hold the suspect on the ground for up to half an hour before police arrived.

“The guy, I had to keep him at least half an hour. He was a strong guy. A big man,” he said.

“It was heartbreaking. It wasn’t an accident.”

Det meldes om en opphetet stemning i Nord-London, hvor moskeen ligger. Stemningen var allerede spent på grunn av Grenfell Tower-brannen. Nå dette.

Statsminister Theresa May uttrykte den største beklagelse og sympati med ofrene. Hun har sittet ved makten mens Storbritannia har oppled tre terrorangrep på tre måneder. Nå kom hevnangrepet. Faren er at det eskalerer.

Men pray after a vehicle collided with pedestrians near a mosque in the Finsbury Park neighborhood of North London, Britain June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Det er ramadan og de religiøse følelsene er sterke.

Mannen slo til litt over midnatt. Den første nyhetsmeldingen gikk ut litt over kl 0100.

Finsbury moské har vært kjent som et arnestad for radikalisering i årevis. Ikke minst den enøyde imamen med sjørøverkrok, Abu Hamza al-Masri ble et symbol på islamsk radikalisering. Etter årelang kamp ble han utlevert til USA. Moskeen fikk ny ledelse og denne er mer moderat.

Finsbury Park Mosque has undergone wholesale changes under new leader Mohammed Kozbar, since the days when hook-handed Abu Hamza was imam there from 1997 until 2003.

Mr Kozbar told The Sun: ‘Whoever did this, he did it to hurt people and it’s a terrorist attack. We call it a terrorist attack as we called it in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge.’

He added he heard there had been fatalities but did not want to ‘jump to conclusions.’

Flere vitner sa det var tre menn i bilen, men politiet vil ikke bekrefte det. Det ble også meldt om knivstikking på et annet sted.i byen, men politiet dementerer også dette. De sendte ut en melding etter tre timer:

At this stage there are no reports of any persons having suffered any knife injuries. The driver of the van – a man aged 48 – was found detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident. He has been taken to hospital as a precaution, and will be taken into custody once discharged. He will also be subject of a mental health assessment in due course.

Politiet dementerer også at det var flere om angrepet.

The statement said no other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to police. “Due to the nature of this incident extra policing resources have been deployed in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan,” it said.

Muslim Council of Britain legger skylden på islamofobien i Storbritannia:

Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said:

During the night, ordinary British citizens were set upon while they were going about their lives, completing their night worship. My prayers are with the victims and their families. It appears from eye witness accounts that the perpetrator was motivated by Islamophobia.

Over the past weeks and months, Muslims have endured many incidents of Islamophobia, and this is the most violent manifestation to date.
Given we are approaching the end of the month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid with many Muslims going to local mosques, we expect the authorities to increase security outside mosques as a matter of urgency.
Muslim communities have been calling for increased action to tackle the growth in hate crime for many years and transformative action must now be taken to tackle not only this incident but the hugely worrying growth in Islamophobia.
Many will feel terrorised, no doubt be angry and saddened by what has taken place tonight. We urge calm as the investigation establishes the full facts, and in these last days of Ramadan, pray for those affected and for justice.”

Politiet vil foreløpig ikke kalle det et terrorangrep, men det virker å være en teknikalitet.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2017/jun/19/north-london-van-incident-finsbury-park-casualties-collides-pedestrians-live-updates