
Police have arrested 12 people including four women during a dawn raid at a block of flats in Barking where one of the London Bridge terrorists reportedly lived.

One witness said a suspect who tried to flee was shot while others reported hearing gunfire and explosions as police swooped on the east London address at 7am on Sunday.

Several men were pictured laying face down in the road handcuffed, while others were later led from the flat alongside four women. The arrests marked the first by police over the attack which killed seven and wounded 48, including 21 people left in critical.

A second raid by armed officers was then caught on film less than a mile away on Barking Road, East Ham, at 3.30pm as officers pointed their weapons to a first floor flat above a Paddy Power shop.

The Metropolitan Police would not confirm whether the operation is linked with last night's terrorist attack, or give any further details about the raid. Witnesses claimed at least three people had been taken from the scene.

Twelve people were arrested in a raid in a tower block in Barking, east London, this morning in connection with the attack

A witness said one of the men attempted to flee from police and was shot before being put in an ambulance, while another said a woman taken from the flats also needed medical attention

Exclusive video shows several men up being sat up against wall by police as they carried out a raid in barking on Sunday morning

Several men were pictured laying on the floor in handcuffs outside the block of flats in a raid which is believed to be in connection with the London Bridge attack

A ground floor flat at the address is believed to belong to one of the dead attackers, according to neighbours

Two women were among those escorted from the tower block by police during the early morning raid in Barking today

A man covers his head with his hood as he is led away from the flats, where one of the terrorists is believed to have lived

A man bends over and covers his head as he is led from the block of flats where one of the terrorists reportedly lived

A forensics officer is seen leaving an address inside the Elizabeth Fry Apartments in Barking, east London, during the raid

Police were also seen talking to a group of burka-clad women, witnesses said, as the area was cordoned off while officers searched for clues

One of the suspects arrested in the East Ham raid made a desperate attempt at a rooftop escape by climbing out of a window.

He was only apprehended after armed officers pointed their weapons at him and threatened to shoot, Malik Rouf, 30, an eyewitness, told MailOnline.

'I don't know if he was scared or anything but he looked pretty desperate,' he said. 'He looked pretty determined to escape.'

The suspect, said to be black and in his twenties, turned around and climbed back through his window where he was arrested along with another black man.

The armed officers had jumped out of three unmarked police cars before pouncing, the eyewitness said. The two suspects were dragged into a van and driven away.

Meanwhile armed police and forensic officers were seen scouring the scene at London Bridge and Borough Market, where three terrorists left a trail of death and destruction when they went on a van and knife rampage.

The attackers, who were wearing fake suicide vests, mowed down up to 20 pedestrians as they careered across London Bridge in an 'S shape' at 50mph before abandoning the vehicle at nearby Borough Market, where they began 'randomly stabbing' revellers packed into busy bars and pubs.

Speaking outside No 10 today, Theresa May said the attack is not directly connected to the Manchester bombing last month or the Westminster atrocity in April but that all three are linked by the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism'. The Prime Minister insisted 'enough is enough' as she vowed to introduce tougher punishments for those connected to extremism. The terror threat level remains at severe, meaning an attack is 'highly likely'.

Forensic officers were seen scouring London Bridge for clues today as security services try to piece together what happened. Meanwhile:

Witness accounts of the terrifying events started to emerge with revellers describing how they fought off knifemen with chairs and glasses after attackers stormed packed bars and restaurants

A hero taxi driver revealed how he tried to knock down three men 'armed with 12in knives' while another reported seeing victim being stabbed in the face and chest

Dashcam footage emerged showing the aftermath of the devastation caused by the van on London Bridge, with bystanders seen tending to victims on the side of the road

Desperate families are begging for information on loved ones feared missing after the attack, including a 16-year-old girl who failed to return home last night

Kindhearted Londoners offered beds, food and cups of tea to survivors as the city came together in the wake of another attack and #PrayForLondon trended on social media

Today heavily armed officers raided a flat in Barking, east London, on Sunday morning as police launched a major investigation into the third terror attack on British soil in as many months

The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee in Whitehall this morning and insisted in a press conference outside No 10 afterwards: 'Enough is enough'

The terror threat level remains at severe, meaning another terror attack is 'highly likely'

Politicians faced calls to cancel the election next week but Mrs May confirmed it will go ahead as planned

All parties except for Ukip agreed to suspend national election campaigning today but local efforts will continue

London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the 'barbaric' and 'horrific' event as 'deliberate and cowardly'. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the attack was 'brutal' and 'shocking' in a tweet last night

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to criticise Sadiq Khan after the London Mayor told residents of his city that there is 'no reason to be alarmed' in the wake of the attack

Ariana Grande, whose young fans were targeted in the attack at Manchester Arena, confirmed the benefit concert to benefit victims will go ahead tonight as planned with her manager urging people to stand together

A minute's silence will be held on Tuesday 6 June in remembrance of those who lost their lives

In a statement released this afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said: 'The investigation into last night's horrific attack in London is progressing rapidly as the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) continue to piece together exactly what occurred.

'Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have this morning, Sunday 4 June, arrested 12 people in Barking, east London, in connection with last night's incidents in London Bridge and the Borough Market area. Searches of a number of addresses in Barking are continuing.'

Speaking at the Elizabeth Fry flats today, a neighbour told Mail Online that he knew the man who lived at the address police are thought to have targeted.

He said: 'I used to play table tennis with him in the lobby of the apartment. I can't believe it. He approached me yesterday and asked me where I hired a van recently. He said he needed one as he was going to move house.

'He was acting strange yesterday. He was being nicer than normal. He would always chat and was very friendly. Last week he invited me to a barbecue. He was always a very sociable person. It is such a shock.

'I knew he lectured people on the Koran and there were always people dressed in robes coming in and out of his apartment. He was always nice, but yesterday he was an entirely different level of niceness.

Armed police were also pictured raiding a first floor flat next to a Paddy Power shop in East Ham at 3.30pm, around a mile away from where the Barking raid took place

Witnesses said one man tried to escape on to the roof before armed officers aimed at him and forced him back inside

Witnesses said three people were taken away from the address, which was cordoned off on Sunday evening

Police would not say whether the East Ham raid was connected to the terror attack which left seven people dead

Three Jihadi terrorists were shot dead by armed police after killing seven people and injuring at least 48 more during a horrific knife rampage in central London last night. This photo appears to show the suspects lying dead on the ground outside Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market. The man in the centre of the image appears to be wearing an Arsenal football shirt

The bodies of two men, believed to be terrorists, lie in the road in Borough market after shots had been heard

Masked police officers wielding guns were seen at London Bridge on Sunday morning as the area remains on lockdown

Forensic officers were seen circling blood splatter and bagging pieces of evidence as they scoured London Bridge today

A map shows how terror attack unfolded. The attackers were shot dead within eight minutes of the first emergency phone call

Police also examined the B&Q van which was used to mow down pedestrians before crashing into the front of the Barrowboy and banker pub near The Shard

Forensic officers painstakingly search for clues on London Bridge as they attempt to unravel the terror attack on Saturday

Police have not yet identified the attackers, while no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack

'He spoke with a British accent.'

TWELVE REMAIN IN CUSTODY OVER MANCHESTER ATTACK Greater Manchester Police arrested 18 people following the attack on the Ariana Grande concert which claimed the lives of 22 people last month. Five men and one woman have been released with out charge. According to a police spokesman, 12 men remain in custody. Advertisement

Another neighbour, Said Mohammad, 52, recalled the suspect as a 'nice guy' who brought round a curry in return for a favour.

'I jump-started his car last year and I told him to forget about giving me money,' he told MailOnline. 'The next day he turned up with a lovely chicken biryani that we all enjoyed.'

Another neighbour named Jamal said the man who lived there was a father-of-one whose wife was pregnant, and aged in his twenties.

He told Mail Online: 'He was always with children, they loved him. He had a good connection with children.

'I always saw him with his child playing in the park. He played with other children too.'

Another neighbour added: 'I often saw him playing table tennis with the guys in the lobby. You could tell from his accent he was either born here or grew up here but he told me he was from Pakistan.'

Speaking about the raid, Tara Milan, 24, told The Telegraph: 'I saw them bringing them out of the flat opposite, around 7am.

Buses and cars that were crossing London Bridge at the time of the attack remain at the scene as police investigate

Forensic officers arrived at the scene of the attack in London Bridge as they scoured for clues to help identify the three attackers

Seven people died and 48 were wounded when three jihadis drove a van into crowds on London Bridge before going on a knife rampage in Borough Market

Police have not released any information on the attackers, and no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack

A forensic police officer carries cases as he works within a cordoned off area after an attack at London Bridge

Armed police officers walk a detection dog through the streets around Borough Market as the investigation gets underway

A City of London police officer bows in respect as a coroner's vehicle is driven away from London Bridge this morning

'One man tried to flee and they shot him outside my house. They out him in an ambulance and then the others in a police van.'

Nizaur Rahman, 33, lives opposite the block of flats where the raid took place.

She said: 'I was woken by the sound of a loud bang like a gunshot or explosion before 7am. I looked out of the window and saw nine CID vans and then ambulances.'

Ali Nabi, 35, lives in the apartment above the raid. 'I have lived here three years but never seen them before,' he said.

'I heard the police shouting 'get down, get down', I looked out of my window and they were laid on the floor. All Asian men in black religious robes. A woman was with them but later released.

'One was in his 50s, another had a white beard, the third was in his 30s and the fourth was younger. They were all laid down with their hands cuffed behind their backs. I think it was someone on the ground floor but I've never seen them.'

One of the terror suspects was thrown out of a local mosque two years ago after shouting that voting in a General Election was 'in-Islamic', MailOnline can disclose.

The man had been attending the Jabir Bin Zayd mosque in Barking for some months when he aggressively interrupted a sermon in which the Imam was advising his community to vote.

'He started saying that voting was un-Islamic and we shouldn't do it,' the mosque manager, who declined to be named, told MailOnline.

'He got very angry. I called him aside and said, please calm down. He refused, so I removed him. Thank God he followed me.

'When we got outside the room, he said you don't have authority over me, only God has authority because this is a house of God. I said that might be true, but I am in charge.'

The suspect had long hair at the time, the manager said, and did not appear to know much about Islam.

'He had no special friends here. He would arrive, pray and then leave. He said hello to people but generally kept himself to himself,' the manager said.

'He seemed an uneducated person. He seemed to have no knowledge of religion.' After the outburst the suspect was banned from the mosque and has not been seen there since, he added.

A man was seen clutching an injured woman's face as she was led away on a stretcher by medics

Passersby look on in horror as police tend to a man who is believed to have been among the 48 injured in the attack last night

Pictured, the van - which is believed to be a B&Q and Hertz vehicle - that was used to mow down unsuspecting pedestrians. Witnesses said it veered in an 'S shape' across the bridge and drove towards the Shard and was south of the river

Within minutes of the first emergency call, armed police were on the scene, pictured, and remain at London Bridge today

Revellers at the busy nightspot were pictured with their hands behind their heads as they were evacuated from the scene

A helicopter, believed to be SAS, was seen at London Bridge after being flown in from the Hereford headquarters to hunt for the deadly terrorists

'Rapid gunfire' was heard in the London Bridge area as armed police shot dead three of the men

The terror started last night when three men drove a van in an 'S shape' across London Bridge shortly before 10.10pm last night in an attempt to deliberately target pedestrians. There are unconfirmed reports that it is a B&Q and Hertz van.

An on-duty British Transport Police officer who rushed to protect bystanders was among the first victims attacked as the attackers abandoned their vehicle and began stabbing at random.

He suffered 'serious but not life-threatening injuries' and his family has been informed.

Some 48 people have been taken to five hospitals across London after the horrific attack. One of the fatalities was at London bridge, it has been reported.

Witnesses said the gang smashed pub windows and reportedly cut the throats of drinkers as civilians barricaded themselves inside and fought off the attackers with pint glasses and chairs. One witness saw a 'dark-skinned' man in a red tracksuit 'calmly' stab a man three times while another witnessed a victim being stabbed in the face.

Terrifying footage from the scene shows police officers shouting 'Clear the scene now!' as panicked pedestrians flee

Witnesses to the terror attack said there was a stabbing in the Southwark venue at the Borough market while others heard at least 12 gunshots in the area

Armed police were seen flooding the cordoned-off streets as they launched a hunt for the jihadists

Guests from the Premier Inn Bankside Hotel are evacuated and kept in a group with police on Upper Thames Street following the terrorist incidents

Cordons were put up across Southwark Street before repeatedly being pushed back as police widened the critical zone around Borough Market

DASHCAM FOOTAGE REVEALS TRAIL OF DEVASTATION ON LONDON BRIDGE AFTER VAN TERROR RAMPAGE A taxi driver filmed the aftermath of last night's shocking terrorist attack on London Bridge on his cab's dash cam. The shocking video shows people receiving emergency treatment on the cycle lane of the south bound carriageway moments after the attack. Witnesses said the van swerved in an 'S' fashion to deliberately target pedestrians. Taxi driver Radoslav Petrov filmed the footage as he witnessed police cars racing across the bridge on the wrong side of the road. Shortly afterwards, pedestrians ran away from the scene, heading north having been told to flee by police. Taxi driver Radoslav Petrov witnessed injured pedestrians receiving assistance from passers by, left, moments after three jihadis ploughed through them on London Bridge last night Police raced towards the scene, left, as the jihadists abandoned their vehicle and began 'randomly stabbing' unarmed victims Police ordered survivors, right, to run north across the bridge and away from the terrorists as they responded to the emergency calls Advertisement

Armed police rushed to the scene and shot dead all three suspects within eight minutes of receiving the first emergency call and placed the area on lock down. Meanwhile medics wheeled away injured victims on stretchers while crying people wrapped in foil blankets were evacuated from the 'horrific' scene.

'The men said "This is for Allah" as they left the van and attacked victims. There were definitely three people sitting at the front of the van,' witness Eric Seguenzo told BBC News.

He added: 'I thought the van was travelling on wrong side of the road, as though the brakes had failed. The white van had yellow stripes, veered to the right and people tried to jump out the way.'

Witnesses to the terror attack heard at least 12 gunshots in the area, now believed to have been police firing at the attackers.

Ben and his wife Natalie were in Borough Market near the Southwark Tavern. They told BBC Radio 5 Live that they saw a 'dark-skinned man in a red tracksuit' stabbing a man.

A traumatised woman wrapped in a foil blanket was led away from the scene of chaos. Police officers were seen screaming to people and ordering them to run

Many bystanders were in tears, with friends supporting each other and carrying people up the road

A police officer cleared people away from the area near London Bridge after an incident in central London

Panicked workers ran through nearby Borough market, where witnesses reported a gang trying to smash into a packed pub

Police in riot gear, with helmets and shields, combed the streets after the attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market

Ben said: 'We saw people running away and then I saw a man in red with a large blade, at a guess 10 inches long, stabbing a man, about three times.

'I was across the road about 15m away. [The attacker] was dark-skinned and had a red tracksuit on.

'It looked like the man had been trying to intervene, but there wasn't much he could do. He was being stabbed quite coldly and he slumped to the ground.'

Photographer Gabriele Sciotto, who had been in the area watching the Champions League Final, said he ran towards the scene of the attack after the three assailants began stabbing people in the Borough Market area.

Police and medics treated injured people and carried them away at the end Thrale Street near London Bridge. Members of the public were told by police to 'run as fast as they could' westbound

A traumatised man who helped the wounded victim led away on a stretcher walked away with blood on his shirt. A horrified bystander wrapped in a foil blanket was led away from the police

Dozens of ambulances lined up along the streets to ferry wounded victims to safety

The atrocity on London Bridge was captured in taxi dashcam footage which showed some of the injured being treated on the side of the road

He told BBC News: 'I came in after the men stabbed some other men. I ran towards the scene because I noticed this man with this kind of explosive looking belt on his chest, they were running.

'A police officer was trying to put himself between them and the crowd. After that they were almost coming towards me and I tried to run away. Then they were going towards the main street. At that point, I ran towards them.

'More police came over, I guess they were on radio or something because in around like two or five seconds they shot all the three men down. That is what I honestly saw.'

Dozens were enjoying their Saturday night when the terrorists struck. Pictured, people are evacuated from the scene

Women on a hen party were among those caught up in the chaos around Borough Market on Saturday night

Armed police officers rushed to the scene within minutes of receiving the emergency call and were seen patrolling the area

Police placed London Bridge, Borough Market and the surrounding area on lock down last night and remain on the scene