London’s Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed that an attempted attack on police officers outside Buckingham Palace on Friday evening is being treated as a terrorist incident.
The incident occurred just after 8:30 p.m. local time, when a 26-year-old man drove his car right up to a police van parked in a restricted area near the palace.
When approached by officers, the man reached into his vehicle and drew out a four-foot sword.
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Three officers acted to detain the man, who repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the scuffle, police said in a statement. He was eventually subdued, with two of the officers receiving treatment for minor cuts.
The suspect was arrested under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act, and is being held at a central London police station.
Counter-terrorism authorities said he appeared to be acting alone.
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“While we cannot speculate on what the man was intending to do — this will be determined during the course of the investigation — it is only right that we investigate this as a terrorist incident at this time,” said Cmdr. Dean Haydon of the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command.
“This is a timely reminder that the threat from terrorism in the U.K. remains severe.”
The incident occurred around the same time that a Belgian national of Somali origin wounded two soldiers with a knife in Brussels, before being shot. He later died in hospital.
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That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, and is also being treated as a terrorist attack by Belgian authorities.
Britain has been hit by multiple terrorist attacks this year, and its threat level currently is set at “severe,” meaning an attack is likely.