After London attack, British PM vows to fight terror, 'whoever is responsible'

Theresa May says ramming of ‘innocents’ outside mosque ‘every bit as sickening’ as earlier incidents of terrorism

LONDON, United Kingdom — British Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to fight terrorism and extremism, “whoever is responsible,” after a van driver plowed through a crowd of Muslim worshipers near a London mosque on Monday.

One person was left dead, and eight people were injured in the attack, at least two of them seriously.

Speaking outside her Downing Street residence, May said the attack was “a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms and our determination to tackle them must be the same, whoever is responsible.”

May said the attack was “every bit as sickening as those that have come before,” referring to three Islamist-inspired attacks in London and Manchester this year that have killed 35 people and injured around 200.

The attack “targeted the ordinary and the innocent… this time British Muslims as they left the mosque,” she said, adding that police would provide any additional protection needed for mosques.

Local people observe prayers at Finsbury Park where a vehicle struck pedestrians in London Monday, June 19, 2017. Police say a vehicle struck pedestrians near a mosque in north London, leaving several casualties and one person was arrested. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

“This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship and like all terrorism, in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal: it seeks to drive us apart,” she said.

“There has been far too much tolerance of extremism… including Islamophobia,” she said, announcing the creation of a new commission to fight extremism in the same way as racism.