Man stabbed in London ‘terror attack’

A knife attacker slashed a man at an east London Tube, reportedly screaming “this is for Syria”, in what the police described as a terrorist incident, prompting the government to urge Britons on Sunday not to be intimidated by the attack.

A pool of blood near the ticket barriers at the Leytonstone Underground station, about 10 km east of central London, could be seen in footage posted on Twitter that also showed the suspect confronting police officers on Saturday evening.

The police said initial reports indicated the man, believed to be aged 29, had also threatened other bystanders. One 56-year-old man suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. Two other people had minor injuries, the police said.

“We are treating this as a terrorist incident,” Richard Walton, who leads the Counter-Terrorism Command at London’s Metropolitan Police, said in a statement. The man was arrested after the police discharged a Taser which stuns suspects.

Detectives were searching a residential address in east London, the police said.

An eyewitness quoted by the Guardian and other British newspapers said the attacker appeared to claim that he was retaliating for Western airstrikes on Islamist militants in Syria. The police declined to comment on those reports and it was not immediately possible to verify them independently.

Meanwhile, YouAintNoMuslimBruv became Britain’s top trending Twitter hashtag Sunday after a passer-by shouted the dismissive remark at the knife-wielding man.

In a video footage, an onlooker is heard shouting “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv” as the 29-year-old suspect, reeling after being hit with an electric stun gun, is pinned down and handcuffed.

The dismissive retort was the top trending hashtag in both London and the whole United Kingdom.

Twitter user Arcanequaint called it “the most British response to a terrorist attack ever”.

Another called Russburt wrote: “One man does more for community cohesion with one sentence than any government initiative.”

Another called Muthla said: “Best trend I've seen — YouAintNoMuslimBruv regarding horrific attack in Leytonstone. Gotta love London for the trend!”

Sociologist Craig Morris wrote: “One sentence pushes away extremists and unites everyone else.”