'You and your children will be next': Islamic fanatics wielding meat cleavers butcher and try to behead a British soldier, taking their war on the West to a new level of horror

One of the men arrested is believed to be Michael Adebolajo



Two men repeatedly stab and tried to behead off-duty soldier in SE London

They shouted 'Allah Akbar' attack and told witnesses to film them



Charged at police officers with rusty revolver, knives and meat cleavers

Killing took place 200 yards from barracks and close to primary school

Both men placed under arrest after being treated for gunshot wounds



PM: Killing is 'sickening' and Britain will 'never buckle' in face of terror



Clutching a bloodied meat cleaver, the man suspected of executing a soldier on a crowded street declared: 'you and your kids will be next'.

In a chilling rant captured on camera, the knife-wielding man declared: 'The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers.'

The man who launched the terrifying diatribe in Woolwich, south-east London, is believed to be Michael Adebolajo, who has been identified on Twitter and web forums as one of the two people arrested.



In the video obtained by ITV News he added: 'Remove your governments - they don't care about you. You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start bursting our guns? You think politicians are going to die?

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Rant: The man, brandishing a weapon, points at the dead soldier with his blood-covered hand as he launches a terrifying rant in Woolwich. The suspect is believed to be Michael Adebolajo

Horrific: Clutching a bloodied meat cleaver, the man - identified as Michael Adebolajo - says 'you people will never be safe' after butchering the young soldier in the street in Woolwich, south-east London, yesterday



Gruesome: The man, named as Michael Adebolajo, waves his hands which are covered in blood just moments after the stabbing yesterday as he makes a defiant statement to the camera 'No, it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them – tell them to bring our troops back so we can... so you can all live in peace.’ Police are today believed to be searching addresses that Adebolajo, known by the Muslim name Mujahid, is linked to in Romford, Essex . They also carried out raids in Lincolnshire and Greenwich, south east London. Terror: Holding two weapons in his hand, the man launches into his diatribe, just yards from where the body of the murdered off-duty soldier lay

Horror: The scene in John Wilson Street, Woolwich moments after police arrived. The two attackers lie on the ground seriously injured after being attacked by police, while the soldier lies dead Poll Should British servicemen be allowed to wear their uniforms on the street after Woolwich killing? No Yes Should British servicemen be allowed to wear their uniforms on the street after Woolwich killing? No 7408 votes

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Speaking outside Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee, the Prime Minister said the attack 'sickens us all' and was a 'betrayal of Islam'.

'The people who did this were trying to divide us. They should know something like this will only bring us together and make us stronger,' he said.

'This country will be absolutely resolute in its stand against violent extremism and terror. We will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms.

'This view is shared by every community in our country. This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life; it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country.' Probe: Police forensic officers work on the scene late into the night in the hours after the horrific stabbing in Woolwich

Murder scene: Police attend to a wounded man as they arrive on the scene in the immediate aftermath of the incident which unfolded at 2.20pm yesterday afternoon Investigation: Evidence bags which contain the weapons used in the bloody attack can be seen on the ground at the murder scene yesterday afternoon Investigations: A forensic tent is erected near the scene of the attack in Woolwich, south-east London Probe: Police forensics officers investigate a car at a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich Tribute: A lone bouquet of flowers lies near the scene yesterday. last night wellwishers arrived and were handing bouquets to police Murder scene: The media gather at the police cordon today as a forensic examination continues in Woolwich today KILLERS WHO BUTCHERED SOLDIER ARE CONDEMNED BY MUSLIM GROUPS

Tributes: A woman leaves flowers at the scene today following the killing which was condemned by the Muslim Council of Britain The killers who executed a soldier on a London street were today condemned by Muslim groups for their 'truly barbaric act'.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the killers’ use of 'Islamic slogans' indicated they were motivated by their faith.

A statement from the council said: 'This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family.

'We understand the victim is a serving member of the Armed Forces. Muslims have long served in this country’s Armed Forces, proudly and with honour.

'This attack on a member of the Armed Forces is dishonourable, and no cause justifies this murder.'

The group called for vigilance and solidarity between 'all our communities, Muslim and non-Muslim', and for police to 'calm tensions'.

Akbar Khan from Building Bridges said : 'We totally condemn the killing of an innocent person in Woolwich.

'And we also condemn all forms of extremism wherever they are.

'The thoughts of the Muslim community are with the family of the man who lost his life, and we pray for him.'

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation said yesterday: 'I wish to condemn the evil and barbaric crime carried out in Woolwich.

'Our immediate thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims. From whatever angle you see the attack, it was at every level evil.

'We must allow the police to gather all the facts before unnecessary speculation and wait for the facts before determining its impact on our country.

'But what happens in the days to come, London and our nation will come together and will not be divided. The terrorists will never win and succeed in their evil plans. '

Julie Siddiqi, of the Islamic Society of Britain, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'We can’t allow the voices of Nick Griffin and the far right to become louder than ours in the coming days. They will say what we have to say and it gives us even more incentive to speak out and come together and not allow people like that to divide us as a country.

'This is one of the most shocking things I have seen in recent years and to have the people of Woolwich have to experience that so close to them, I just feel is absolutely horrific.'



SHOCKED EYEWITNESS SAYS MAN WAS 'HACKED, CHOPPED AND CUT'

An eyewitness who watched a man brutally killed with a machete-style knife and dumped in a street last night dramatically revealed how he watched the two attackers behave like 'crazed animals'. The man, known only as James, said he and his partner saw two black men attack a young man aged around 20 in a Help for Heroes T-shirt like he was ‘a piece of meat’. Fighting back tears, he told LBC Radio: ‘They were hacking at this poor guy, literally. They were chopping him, cutting him. These two guys were crazed. They were just animals. 'They dragged him from the pavement, dumped his body in the middle of the road and left (it) there.’ He said that after the ‘horrendous’ attack, the two men, in their 20s, stood around, waving knives and a gun, even asking people nearby to take pictures of them ‘as if they wanted to be on TV’. ‘They were oblivious to anything, they were more worried about having their photo taken, running up and down the road,’ he said.

‘They had no intention of running off or leaving or anything. In my opinion, they were waiting for the police to arrive to be shot by the police. That's the only thing I can think. It's horrendous what they were doing to that guy.’



Last night Mr Cameron cut short his trip to Paris and described the assassination as ‘absolutely sickening’, insisting Britain will ‘never buckle’ in the face of terrorist attacks.

Security was tightened at dozens of other Army barracks across the country amid fears of copycat attacks and Home Secretary Theresa May called a meeting of Cobra, Whitehall’s emergency committee, after being briefed by MI5 and counter-terrorism police.



Experts believe the pair were using Muslim names and could be of Somali or Nigerian heritage.

It is thought the two fundamentalists had spent weeks watching the barracks, which the Queen is due to visit next week, prior to the attack.

The ambush and stabbing of a soldier close to an army barracks is an unprecedented Islamic attack on mainland Britain.

A group of military wives who laid flowers today said they were 'numb'.



One of the women, in her 20s, who did not want to be named, said: 'We are all just very numb at the moment - shaken up and very shocked. It could have been any one of our husbands.



'He was a young guy who cared very much about his job, like they all do. I think he was in training.'



The killing immediately prompted widespread revulsion. David Cameron said Britain ‘will not be cowed, will never buckle’ in the face of terrorism last night as he urged people to go about their lives as normal in defiance of the ‘absolutely sickening’ killing in London.

London Mayor Mr Johnson said: ‘Londoners from all communities, from across this city have been here before.

Armed patrol: A soldier stands guard outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, as security is stepped up at barracks across Britain Nearby: The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, which is just 200 yards from where the attack happened

Aftermath: The air ambulance at the scene in south-east London yesterday afternoon as the two killers are rushed to hospital after being shot by armed officers

Grim scene: The soldier was crushed against this sign (left) when the Vauxhall Tigra crashed into him. The men then got out and attacked him with knives and a machete

Weapons: Forensic experts bag up evidence at the scene in the aftermath of the horrific killing yesterday Terror: Prime Minister David Cameron arrives back in Downing Street last night after cutting short a trip to Paris following the death of a soldier in Woolwich yesterday

Killing: The attack happened on John Wilson Street in Woolwich, south-east London, yesterday afternoon, close to the military barracks

PREVIOUS ATTACK ON SOLDIER

In February 2008 a Birmingham man was jailed for life for plotting to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier. Parviz Khan admitted planning to lure the soldier off the streets with the promise of drugs - then film his beheading. He was described in court as having 'the most violent and extreme Islamist views', and the judge said his aim was to deter any Muslim from joining the British Army.

Khan was ordered to serve at least 14 years in jail. 'I know that this is a city of incredible resilience and courage and we have to protect ourselves with the best security services, the most professional police service, in the world.’

Relations between British Muslims in the armed forces and their colleagues will not be strained following the murder of a British soldier in Woolwich, a retired army captain has said.

Captain Afzal Amin, former chairman of the Armed Forces Muslim Association, said: 'I send my condolences to the poor victim, not just as a former army officer but as a British Muslim.

'We're not accustomed to this kind of completely inexplicable attack.' 'There are a wide range of racial backgrounds in the armed forces which have formed a good, solid integrated body. I'm sure relations are already well established.'

'Remember the context of all of this,' he added. 'This was an attack on an innocent soldier, an abhorrent crime in a normally cohesive society.'

Last night the Muslim Council of Britain said it was a ‘truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam’. ‘We condemn this unreservedly,’ a spokesman said. ‘Our thoughts are with the victim and his family. ‘We understand the victim is a serving member of the Armed Forces. Muslims have long served in this country’s Armed Forces, proudly and with honour. ‘This attack on a member of the Armed Forces is dishonourable and no cause justifies this murder. This action will no doubt heighten tensions on the streets of the United Kingdom.’

Police cordon: The area is sealed off yesterday afternoon in the immediate aftermath of the killing ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS The incident occurred some 200 yards from the Royal Artillery Barracks, adjacent to Woolwich Common, the historical home of the Royal Artillery. The barracks, also known as the Woolwich station, now houses a number of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and independent companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards. Woolwich Common remains a military training area. The shooting events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were held at a temporary venue at the Barracks. Dozens of people watched as the two men hacked the innocent soldier to death across the road from a nearby primary school.

Last night Newsnight correspondent Richard Watson said: ‘I received a very interesting phone call from a source who knows the British jihadi scene very well and [he] said that one of the attackers was Nigerian in origin, has been living in the UK for many years, [and] was radicalised by the Islamist group Al Muhajiroun [a banned extremist group] in 2003. ‘He suggested to me that just last year this young man was stopped or arrested ... on his way to join Al Shabaab in Somalia.’ More than 200 far-Right English Defence League supporters descended on Woolwich last night. The mob, some wearing black balaclavas, chanted ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘EDL’, and were kept penned in by police officers.

Additional reporting: Nick Fagge, Ryan Kisiel, Mario Ledwith, Emily Davies, Francesca Infante, Ben Spencer, Ian Drury, James Rush FEMALE GUN COPS WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO PULL THE TRIGGER

The officer involved in the Woolwich shooting is one of only a handful of women in Scotland Yard’s elite CO19 unit. In London, although women fill about one in five police roles, they represent only a tiny proportion of firearms officers. The markswomen are highly trained and treated as equals in their units – if it falls to them to shoot at a suspect, so be it. Front-line: In recent years the Met has held women-only recruitment days for its firearms units Their skills are prized by police commanders, who desperately want to increase their number. Despite the events of yesterday, they believe the presence of female officers at highly charged confrontations can often help defuse violence. In recent years the Met has held women-only recruitment days for its firearms units and appointed existing female officers as mentors. Senior officers even considered running training sessions for women with childcare responsibilities – and investing in lighter firearms. In a recent interview, one woman firearms officer said: ‘Men and women have a different viewpoint. Women have a defusing effect, calming things down.’ Firearms officers in armed response vehicles are called out about 1,000 times a month to a variety of incidents in London. Although shots are fired on only a handful of occasions, the use of firearms inevitably provokes controversy and wider questions about lethal force. Integrating women into armed response units has met with problems in some parts of the country.

Last week a North Yorkshire Police woman firearms officer was awarded £20,000 damages after suffering discrimination at the hands of her colleagues. The only woman member of an all-male unit was asked if she wanted a ‘pink gun’ and endured a cruel sexist practical joke. The case is one of several involving women police officers. Another force is contesting claims by women that they were unfairly singled out during training.

Probe: A white forensics tent is set up near the scene, close to where the car has crashed Horror: A large crowd gathers at the scene in Woolwich as police and ambulance services arrive after the soldier was hacked to death

Probe: An air ambulance can be seen landing at the scene in Woolwich. Two men killers were rushed to hospital where they are today still being treated

Evidence bags: Police forensic officers collect evidence from the scene in Woolwich, south-east London

Eyewitness: Twitter user Boya Dee wrote that the suspects tried to attack police officers after hacking at a man with a machete

