Three terror attacks in the UK in the past 75 days

TODAY’S attack in London is the third terror attack in the UK in the past 75 days.

Seven people are so far confirmed dead and at least 48 people have been taken to hospital as a result of today’s incident which started just after 10pm.

The terror began when a white van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge.

The van continued to the nearby Borough Market where three suspects then emerged from the vehicle and went on a stabbing rampage.

Three of the attackers, who were wearing fake explosive vests, were shot and killed by police within eight minutes of the initial call to emergency services.

Today’s attack comes after two other recent acts of terrorism in the UK that left 30 people dead, and the BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says more attacks are likely.

“MI5, the security service, has been tracking around 500 active plots in this country and its director had earlier warned to expect one of those plots to get through,” Gardner said.

“But the pressure on the police and MI5 to stop further attacks is now overwhelming. As so-called Islamic State loses ground in the Middle East it’s been calling on its followers to attack civilians in Britain and other western countries using vehicles, guns and knives.”

The other terror attacks were:

MARCH 22

At 2:40pm, 52-year-old British man Khalid Masood drove his car onto the pavement on Westminster Bridge and hit a number of pedestrians, killing four people and injuring up to 50.

Masood’s car then came to a stop when he crashed into railings outside the Palace of Westminster. He got out of his vehicle with a knife and ran towards Parliament where he stabbed and killed unarmed police office, Keith Palmer.

A bodyguard for the British Defence Secretary witnessed the stabbing and ran up to Masood and shot him in the chest.

Six people in total, including Masood, were killed during the attack which lasted just 82 seconds.

Addressing the incident the next day, British Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs: “Yesterday an act of terrorism tried to silence our democracy, but today we meet as normal, as generations have done before us and as future generations will continue to do, to deliver a simple message: We are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism”.