British Prime Minister Theresa May blamed only the "evil" Islamist ideology for an attack by knife-wielding men who mowed down and stabbed revellers in London, killing seven, as police said they had arrested 12 suspects.
The rampage last 3 June at the popular nightlife hub around London Bridge, by three men arriving in a van and wearing fake suicide vests, was the third deadly terror attack in Britain in three months and came only days before snap elections.
National campaigning for the general election was suspended for the day out of respect for the victims, who included 48 people treated in hospital, some of them in life-threatening conditions.
No details have been released about the suspects, who were shot dead within minutes by police, and detectives are still investigating whether they acted alone.
The 12 arrests were made in the ethnically diverse east London suburb of Barking, with Sky News reporting that a property raided by police belonged to one of the killers.
May said the attack was driven by the same "evil ideology of Islamist extremism" behind last week's Manchester suicide bombing that left 22 people dead, and the Westminster attack in March, which killed five.
"The recent attacks are not connected but we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face," she said after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee.
She warned that perpetrators are inspired to attack "by copying one another."
U.S. President Donald Trump offered the only viable solution as he urged the world to stop being "politically correct" in order to ensure security.
"We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people," Trump wrote last 4 June. "If we don't get smart it will only get worse."
He continued: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"
Last 22 May, the concert of Ariana Grande in Manchester, England was hit by a suicide bombing that killed 22 people and wounded 116.
The rampage last 3 June at the popular nightlife hub around London Bridge, by three men arriving in a van and wearing fake suicide vests, was the third deadly terror attack in Britain in three months and came only days before snap elections.
National campaigning for the general election was suspended for the day out of respect for the victims, who included 48 people treated in hospital, some of them in life-threatening conditions.
No details have been released about the suspects, who were shot dead within minutes by police, and detectives are still investigating whether they acted alone.
The 12 arrests were made in the ethnically diverse east London suburb of Barking, with Sky News reporting that a property raided by police belonged to one of the killers.
May said the attack was driven by the same "evil ideology of Islamist extremism" behind last week's Manchester suicide bombing that left 22 people dead, and the Westminster attack in March, which killed five.
"The recent attacks are not connected but we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face," she said after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee.
She warned that perpetrators are inspired to attack "by copying one another."
U.S. President Donald Trump offered the only viable solution as he urged the world to stop being "politically correct" in order to ensure security.
"We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people," Trump wrote last 4 June. "If we don't get smart it will only get worse."
He continued: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"
Last 22 May, the concert of Ariana Grande in Manchester, England was hit by a suicide bombing that killed 22 people and wounded 116.