This is for Syria... blood will be spilled': Terror comes to London after knifeman threatening revenge for airstrikes slashes man at Tube station and is filmed being Tasered by police as families flee
- The man was attacked at Leytonstone Underground station at 7pm
- Eyewitnesses claimed the knife attacker shouted 'this is for Syria'
- London's anti-terrorism chief said the chance of more attacks is high
- 10 Downing Street said they were monitoring events following the attack
- WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES
A knifeman slashed a man at a busy London tube station and allegedly shouted 'this is for Syria' before being Tasered by police in what has been described by Scotland Yard as a terrorism attack.
The victim suffered serious knife injuries at Leytonstone underground station shortly after 7pm last night.
Anti-terror police are now investigating the attack after eyewitnesses claimed they could the 29-year-old man shout 'this is for Syria' and 'all of your blood will be spilled' during the terrifying attack.
The man was filmed as he allegedly waved his knife circled, before being Tasered by police
An eyewitness filmed the alleged victim slumped to the ground moments after the attack in Leytonstone
There was a confrontation, left, after the stabbing which left a large pool of blood, right, at Leytonstone Underground station in east London shortly after 7pm
Terrified children ran for safety with their parents as a victim was left on the floor of the ticket hall lying in a large pool of blood. The distressing scenes were filmed on mobile phones and posted online by onlookers.
Witnesses said that until police arrived, the knifeman, 29, attacked people at random for up to ten minutes screaming: ‘This is what happens when you f*** with mother Syria. All of your blood will be spilled.’ But one onlooker defiantly shouted back to him: 'You ain't no Muslim bruv.'
Another called out: 'Drop it, you fool.'
One victim, 56, was left with serious injuries and rushed to hospital with a police escort while two other people suffered minor wounds. None was life-threatening.
After reportedly slashing his victim's throat, the man allegedly threatened several other passengers before being confronted by a number of unarmed police officers.
The officers ordered the man to drop his weapon, who continued to wave the large knife.
One video shows the man lunge towards the police, with witnesses shouting 'he's stabbed someone'.
One of the officers reportedly shouted 'Taser, Taser, Taser' before discharging the weapon.
It is understood the man needed several bolts of electricity before he collapsed to the ground.
The incident has now been handed over to the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.
The victim suffered serious, non life-threatening knife wounds while two others were injured.
An elderly gentleman, right, walked by the confrontation as a police officer was about to fire his taser, circled
Terrified onlookers stood back during the incident which took place in the ticket hall of the tube station
Eyewitnesses claimed the police needed to fire several blasts of the Taser to knock the man down
The man was handcuffed by officers moments after he had been Tasered in the ticket hall
Head of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism unit, Commander Richard Walton said; 'We are treating this as a terrorist incident. I would urge the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant.
'The threat from terrorism remains at severe, which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely.
'I would appeal to anyone who was in the vicinity of Leytonstone underground station earlier this evening at around 7pm who saw anything suspicious to call the anti-terror hotline on .
'Anyone who may have captured video or photographic footage of the incident is also urged to make contact with the Counter Terrorism Command via the Anti Terror hotline.'
A Number 10 spokesperson said: 'There is an ongoing police investigation into tonight's attack in London. We are monitoring the situation closely as further details emerge.'
The stabbing was the first Jihadi attack in London since the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in May 2013.
Bystanders shouted at the man to drop his knife as he was standing in front of the police officers, pictured
Eyewitness Laurynas Godvisa said: ‘I was going to Leytonstone station dressed to go to Christmas dinner with people from work. As I walked down I just saw a lot of people running but I ignored it and kept walking to get my train, but suddenly I couldn’t believe my eyes – I saw I guy with a knife and a guy on the floor.
‘I was so scared I ran for my life. After a good ten to 15 minutes police came and got the guy and arrested him. And as he was coming out, he said, “This is what happens when you f*** with mother Syria. All of your blood will be spilled”.’
Astonishingly, bystanders filmed clips on mobile phones and immediately uploaded them to Twitter to show the aftermath of the rampage and the knifeman’s tense stand-off with police.
One short film showed a man dressed in dark clothing lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Families with children dashed across the ticket hall within yards of the machete-wielding man, as concerned bystanders shouted at them to get away.
Incredibly, others including an elderly man holding a carrier bag walked past the attacker to continue their journey, seemingly oblivious to the danger and the pool of blood where one victim was slashed.
Moments later a group of policemen in anti-stab vests rushed to the scene and challenged the knifeman to put down his machete.
But the attacker – dressed in a grey sweatshirt and beige trousers – held up the weapon, appearing to injure an officer, who pushed him off as he was warned: ‘Drop it you fool.’
At that moment passers-by pushed through the barriers, appearing to ready themselves to grab the man.
Another officer prepared to fire a high-voltage Taser gun at the knifeman, who ducked to try to avoid being hit. Over the shouts of the crowd, an officer was heard warning: ‘I’m going to Taser you right now.’ One man filming the incident urged: ‘Taser him, Taser him.
Following the attack, Transport for London ceased all services between Liverpool Street and Woodford / Newbury Park while the scene was examined.
There were conflicting reports over where the man had been injured. Some witnesses claimed the victim had been slashed in the throat, while one video showed a man with an apparent arm injury.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: 'We were called at 7:09pm to reports of an assault at Leytonstone underground station.
'We sent a number of resources to the including our joint response unit, an incident response officer, an ambulance crew and London's Air Ambulance to the scene.
'We treated a man for stab wounds.
'He was taken as a priority to hospital escorted by the doctor from London's Air Ambulance.'
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: 'The stabbing in Leytonstone is absolutely shocking. My thoughts are with the victim and his family.'
A Twitter user has been telling of the bloodshed and horror that unfolded at the station.
The commuter was on their way to a Christmas dinner with his workmates when he saw people running frantically.
They wrote: 'I ignored it and kept walking to get my train, but suddenly what I saw I couldn't believe my eyes.
'What I saw was I guy with a knife and a dead guy on the floor. I was so scared I ran for my life.
'After a good 10-15 police came and got the guy and arrested him.'
Michael Garcia told ITV News: 'I look over and i see a guy huddled on the floor behind the barriers and the guy brandishing the knife.
'It was a small blade maybe about three inches long. And then he's screaming "go on then, run, run" and there's people like wanting to go forward to try and help the guy, but the guy's standing just right next to him, just brandishing the knife.'
An eyewitness called Khayam told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘The majority of people were running away from the station. I walked closer to the tunnel to listen in – there were a lot of people screaming. Within about five to ten minutes they brought out the person who was trying to stab people. They put him in a police van.
‘When he came out I didn’t hear him say anything but I saw pedestrians shouting at him. They weren’t happy with what he had done. One pedestrian threw a bottle at him.
‘I saw a victim come out on a stretcher and then police closed off the station.’
Passengers tried to avoid the escalating confrontation which lasted for more than ten minutes
Another man called Farhan, 31, said that his uncle, who works for London Underground, said that the attacker picked on a white passenger inside the station and tried to cut his throat while screaming: ‘This is for Syria.’
Farhan added that when the attacker cut the man’s neck, a station manager shouted: ‘You are not even Muslim, why are you doing this?’
The air ambulance attended the scene. Two officers from British Transport Police were guarding the entrance to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel last night.
Stationed outside the entrance, one officer confirmed that a victim from the Leytonstone attacks was being treated there, but could not comment on their condition, nor whether family members had arrived. ‘What we have is only a snapshot of what happened, but officers from British Transport Police and the Met are here. I can’t say any more.’
The stabbing comes at time of great tension in Europe following the Paris terror attacks last month.
The coordinated attack on the French capital, in which 130 were killed, as well as the launch of British airstrikes on ISIS locations in Syria, sparked fears that terror groups could launch lone wolf attacks on Europe.
Forensic officers began a detailed search of the station last night in the aftermath of the terrorist attack
The attack happened at Leytonstone Underground station in East London shortly after 7pm
Police secured the scene of the attack at Leytonstone Underground station, pictured, earlier this evening
Services on the Central Line were suspended for the evening as police continued to examine the crime scene
ECHOES OF THE BATACLAN: ARE THE WORDS 'THIS IS FOR SYRIA' BECOMING TERRORISTS' WAR CRY?
Moments before four terrorists opened fire on hundreds of innocent concert goers inside the Bataclan theatre in Paris, they screamed: 'This is for Syria... Allahu Akbar!'
The massacre that followed was the deadliest in a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital on November 13, in which 130 were needlessly killed.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the Paris slaughter, saying it was revenge for French airstrikes on Syria.
ISIS claimed the attack on the Bataclan, pictured, was a response for France's bombing in Syria
Today in Leytonstone, east London, there were chilling reports that a man yelled the exact same words - 'this is for Syia' - during a violent knife attack in a tube station. One man was said to have had his throat sliced open, and two others were wounded.
The attacker's motives are as yet unknown but the attack is now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.
Last month, MI5 stepped up its surveillance of known radicals after warning the drone strike that killed ISIS's chief executioner Jihadi John could lead to reprisals.
And after Britain's government voted in favour of extending airstrikes to Syria this week, some MPs said it could foster a new generation of Islamist fanatics and ultimately make Britain 'less safe'.
These factors combined have raised fears that terror groups could launch lone wolf attacks on European countries including the UK.
Those fears were heightened by the release of a new ISIS video this week, in which one jihadi said the November 13 massacre in Paris was just 'the beginning.'
Wearing a suicide vest and brandishing an AK47, the fanatic added: 'Tomorrow will be Washington. It will be New York and it will be Moscow.
'There will be no safety in this world from our guns and bullets and explosives. We will come to you.'
At least seven terror attacks are said to have been foiled in Britain in the last 12 months but terror expert Will Geddes this week claimed that British cities are at risk of a 'major' attack in the build up to Christmas.
'When you look at a terrorist group you ask 'what is their key objective?'. In ISIS it will be to cause human death or casualty,' he told the Daily Star.
He added: 'They are very media savvy and will look for optimum carnage that will be relayed around the world.
'If around London there is going to be more publicity in Parliament Square than the backstreets of Wandsworth.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3347632/Tube-terror-knifeman-screaming-Syria-blood-spilled-slashes-man-s-throat-Tasered-police.html#ixzz3tWIYEg5W
