Numerous terror-related incidents and outright attacks have plagued the city of London in 2017. Those include a London Bridge attack, in which a van plowed into pedestrians and gunmen stormed nearby a restaurant; another deadly van attack near a mosque; and an attack on the tube with an improvised explosive device that injured at least 20 people. British intelligence agency MI5 now reveals that it has foiled a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Theresa May.
Sky News reports that the planned attack involved the detonation of an improvised explosive device near the gates of Downing Street, followed by a breach on May’s residence and an attempt on her life amid the resulting chaos. The plan, which is understood to have been a suicide plot, has resulted in the arrest of two alleged terrorists, via The Telegraph:
Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 20, allegedly planned to launch a bomb attack on the security gates outside Downing Street before detonating a suicide vest in Number 10 in a bid to kill Theresa May.
Rahman has been charged with preparing acts of terrorism and will appear in court alongside Mohammed Aqib Imran, 21, who is accused of trying to join Islamic State. Rahman, of north London, and Imran, of south east Birmingham, were arrested by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command on Tuesday.
News of the foiled plot arrives mere days after British intelligence revealed that this year’s Manchester terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert, which killed 22 people, could have been avoided, had multiple reports to MI5 on terrorist Salman Abedi (who was a previously a “subject of interest”) been properly investigated. However, MI5 Head of Security Andrew Parker maintains that his agency has prevented at least 9 terror attacks in the United Kingdom over the past year, and authorities continue to infiltrate terror cells on an ongoing basis.
(Via Sky News, The Telegraph, CNN & The Guardian)