London attack: Police know identities of killers

The Metropolitan Police have announced that they know the identity of the three terrorists who killed seven people and injured 48 others in London on Saturday night, the media reported on Monday.

"Their names would be released as soon as operationally possible," the department said in the early hours of Monday.

The announcement comes after 12 people were arrested in Barking on Sunday night following raids at a flat -- believed to be the home of one of the attackers, reports the BBC.

A 55-year-old man has since been released without charge.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said a "huge amount" of forensic material and evidence has been seized from the raids and also the white van which rammed onto pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday. The three attackers later abandoned the van when in the nearby Borough Market and began a stabbing spree.

The attackers were shot dead by the police. The Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed responsibility.

The police commissioner told the BBC that the investigation was moving very quickly and the priority now was to establish if anybody else was involved in the plot.

The police added that officers on Monday began search operations at two addresses in east London -- one in Newham and the other in Barking.

The first victim of the attack has been named as Canadian national Chrissy Archibald, reports the BBC.

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, 21 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 have 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 less on May 22 in which 22 people were killed.

--IANS

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