One Dead, 10 Injured As Van Hits Muslims Leaving Mosque

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A van plowed into worshippers near a London mosque on Monday, injuring 10 people in what police said was a deliberate attack on Muslims that was being treated as a terrorist incident.

Shortly after midnight, the hired vehicle swerved into a group of people leaving prayers at the Muslim Welfare House and the nearby Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, one of the biggest in the country, witnesses said.

“This had all the hallmarks of a terrorist incident,” said Neil Basu, senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing. “This was an attack on London and all Londoners.”

If confirmed by the authorities as terrorism, it would be the fourth attack since March in Britain and the third to involve a vehicle deliberately driven at pedestrians.

The attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when Muslims were attending special prayers. Abdulrahman Aidroos said he and his friends had been tending an old man who had suffered a heart attack when the van was driven at them.

“When he was running he was saying ‘I wanna kill more people, I wanna kill more Muslims’,” he told BBC TV. He said he had helped tackle the driver and pin him down with others until police arrived.

“RESTRAINT”

Basu thanked those who detained the driver, adding: “Their restraint in the circumstances was commendable.”

The suspected van driver, aged 48, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and will be questioned by counter-terrorism officers.

“I would like to … thank our Imam, Mohammed Mahmoud, whose bravery and courage helped calm the immediate situation after the incident and prevented further injuries and potential loss of life,” said Toufik Kacimi, the chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House.

Police said the man who was being given first aid at the scene before the vehicle was driven into pedestrians had died but it was not clear whether his death was directly linked.