Worshippers hit by van at London mosque in terror attack

Several people were injured in north London early today when a van rammed into worshippers leaving a mosque, witnesses said, in what British police described as a “major incident”.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the vehicle hit people as they were leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque, one of Britain’s largest. The attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when people attend prayers at night.

Two worshippers were feared killed, according to the Sun newspaper, but there was no immediate confirmation of this.

BREAKING: We have been informed that a van has run over worshippers as they left #FinsburyPark Mosque. Our prayers are with the victims. https://t.co/FSE5m3bFpo

— MCB (@MuslimCouncil) June 19, 2017

Police said they were called just after 12:20am (23:20 GMT Sunday) to reports of a collision on Seven Sisters Road, which runs through the Finsbury Park area of the city. They said there were a number of casualties and one person had been arrested.

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“From the window, I started hearing a lot of yelling and screeching, a lot of chaos outside. … Everybody was shouting: ‘A van’s hit people, a van’s hit people’,” one woman who lives opposite the scene told the BBC.

There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Park mosque that seemed to have hit people who were coming out after prayers had finished. I didn’t see the attacker himself, although he seems to have been arrested, but I did see the van.

A man leapt out of the van and stabbed at least one person, the Evening Standard newspaper said, citing witnesses. Reuters could not immediately confirm that report.

The incident follows a series of attacks in Britain in recent months blamed on Islamist militants, the latest just over two weeks ago in which three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight..

One witness told CNN it was clear that the attacker at Finsbury Park had deliberately targeted Muslims.

Read: ‘Enough is enough’ UK PM says after London attackers kill seven

“He tried to kill a lot of people so obviously it’s a terrorist attack. He targeted Muslims this time,” the witness, identified only as Rayan, said.

We have a number of ambulance crews & specialist teams on scene at the incident on #SevenSisters Road #FinsburyPark https://t.co/oL75V7ZUWD pic.twitter.com/4SHEhzx3tr

— London Ambulance Service 💙 (@Ldn_Ambulance) June 19, 2017

Other witnesses told Sky television that the van had hit at least 10 people.

Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the van had deliberately swerved into a group of people who were helping a man who was ill and had fallen to the ground.

“A number of passers-by, or friends, or people who had come by from the mosque, were gathering around him to help take him to his family, take him to his house,” Versi told Reuters.

“At that moment in time, basically a van swerved into them deliberately,” he said, citing a witness at the scene.

He said the driver had run out of the van but a group of people caught him and held him until police arrived.

A Reuters witness saw at least one person being loaded into an ambulance. Armed police, ambulances and the fire service were in attendance.

Why isn't the media not calling this a terror attack 😡,is it because his White #FinsburyPark https://t.co/rGYNkNw2CF

— sandeep_k (@sandeep_k2) June 19, 2017

Emergency services are on the scene and investigating a major incident at Finsbury Park. Follow @Metpoliceuk and @Ldn_ambulance for details.

— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) June 19, 2017

Counter-terrorism police have joined regular police officers looking into the incident, the Guardian newspaper reported.