Victim Count In London Attack Near Parliament Rises To Four

Number of deaths from Wednesday's attack on the heart of Britain's democracy grew to five as police said one of the injured, a 75-year-man, had died in hospital after his life support was withdrawn. That number included Khalid Masood, the attacker who ploughed a car through a throng of pedestrians and then stabbed a policeman outside Britain's parliament, before being shot dead. He was identified to be a British-born man who was once investigated by MI5 intelligence officers over concerns about violent extremism.

The attack was the deadliest in Britain since 2005, when 52 people were killed by Islamist suicide bombers on London's public transport system.

It followed a series of terrorist operations that have killed some 280 people in France, Belgium and Germany in just over two years, and marked the third occasion a lone attacker has used a vehicle as a weapon.

ISIS claimed responsibility in a statement issued by its Amaq news agency, but did not name Masood and gave no details. It was not clear whether the attacker was directly connected to the jihadist group.

Police said Masood was born in the county of Kent in southeast England and was most recently living in the West Midlands region of central England.

"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament the attacker had once been investigated by the MI5 intelligence agency over concerns about violent extremism, but had been a peripheral figure.

Mayhem

During five minutes of mayhem in the heart of London on Wednesday, Masood sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, mowing down pedestrians. He then ran through the gates of the nearby parliamentary precinct and fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman, Keith Palmer, before being shot dead.

About 40 people were injured, of whom some were in critical condition. May visited some of them, her spokesman said.

Police arrested eight people at six locations in London and Birmingham in the investigation into the attack, which May said was inspired by a warped Islamist ideology. All were suspected of preparing terrorist acts, police later confirmed.

As dusk fell, hundreds gathered in London's Trafalgar Square in a vigil to remember the victims. With traffic diverted away, volunteers handed out candles in an eerie silence.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Internet providers and social media networks to do more to curb extremist propaganda.

"They've got to look at the stuff that's going up on their sites, they've got to take steps to invigilate it, to take it down where they can," he said.

"Lone-Wolf Attack"

The casualties included 12 Britons, three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, one Chinese, one American and two Greeks, May said.

Queen Elizabeth released a message saying: "My thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence."

US tourist Kurt Cochran was named as one of the dead in a Facebook post by family member Shantell Payne.

"With a heavy heart I must pass the sad news of our beautiful brother, father, husband, son and friend Kurt Cochran, he could not overcome the injuries he received in the London terror attacks," Payne wrote.

Her post said Cochran's wife, Melissa Payne Cochran, was in hospital with a broken leg and rib and a cut on her head. The couple were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

US President Donald Trump paid tribute to Cochran in a tweet, calling him "a great American".