London attack: Police prepare to name killers

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday announced that police have identified the three assailants involved in the attack in London on Saturday, which killed seven people and injured 48.

The Met Police said their names would be released "as soon as operationally possible" as officers work to establish if they were part of a wider network, BBC reported.

May said the victims included a "number of nationalities", saying it was "an attack on the free world".

Police searched more addresses in east London on Monday and said a "number of people" had been detained following the raids in Newham and Barking.

Eleven people were being held after police raids in Barking on Sunday. One of the properties was believed to be the home of one of the attackers.

The three attackers were shot dead by police after driving into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbing people in Borough Market.

Security sources in Dublin said one of the attackers was carrying an identification card issued in Ireland when he was shot dead, the Press Association reported.

Meanwhile, Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said a "huge amount" of forensic material and evidence had been seized from the attackers' van -- as well as during the police raids.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The first victim of the attack was named as Canadian national Chrissy Archibald, BBC reported.

A statement from her family said she had worked in a homeless shelter until she moved to Europe to be with her fiance.

A French national was also killed in the attack.

Among the injured, 18 were in critical condition, according to Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley.

London Bridge rail and Tube stations both reopened for entry and exit early on Monday morning, after National Rail said the police cordons in the area of the attack had been lifted earlier than expected.

The bridge and surrounding roads also reopened.

This was the third terror attack in the UK in three months, following the car and knife attack on Westminster Bridge in March, in which five people were killed, and the Manchester bombing on May 22 in which 22 people were killed.

--IANS

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