8 minutes on London Bridge: Years of training led to prompt police response

Eight minutes. That is the length of time from the start of the London Bridge attack to the three terrorists being killed by armed police. The Metropolitan Police Service is rightly being heralded for the speed, courage and effectiveness of its members in ending a terrorist atrocity. But the success in their response which prevented more people from being injured and killed is, besides individual bravery, about learning from previous terrorist attacks, training and resources.

In the pre-9/11 era, the style of terrorist attacks frequently involved hostage takings in which terrorists sought to negotiate to achieve some set of aims, gain wider publicity and then try to get away with their lives. The most famous example of this was the attack at the Munich Olympics which stretched out for several days before ending with a botched rescue attempt at an airport and the killing of members of the Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists.

London has also witnessed hostage takings. In 1975, a six-day stand-off occurred on Balcombe Street in the city’s West End. Armed members of the Irish Republican Army, responsible for a series of bombings across London over previous months, took a couple hostage in their flat as they were being pursued by police. The hostage taking ended peacefully with the surrender of the terrorists.

More famously, in 1980 a group of six armed attackers stormed the Iranian Embassy in London taking 26 people hostage. After six days, they killed a hostage, prompting the Thatcher government to deploy the Special Air Service (SAS). The team of crack soldiers was famously caught on television going in to end the siege.

A new template for terrorism
The November 2008 attacks in Mumbai and the Paris attacks in December 2015 created a new template for the police to address. In both cases, teams of heavily armed and roving attackers attempted to kill as many people as possible while causing mayhem in the centres of major cities. Metropolitan Police specialists have been preparing for such a possibility for years now. Although, thankfully, Saturday night’s attack didn’t involve terrorists with firearms, those skills served them well in quickly dealing with the London Bridge attackers.

In 2010, a major police training exercise, also involving members of the SAS, took place in London with the aim of dealing with a Mumbai-style attack. A UK government spokeswoman noted at the time:

The police regularly train and exercise for a variety of scenarios with a variety of partners. It is right that we learn the lessons from previous incidents and that these inform and strengthen such procedures.
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Terror visits the UK again: 6 killed in London attack, 3 suspects shot dead

At least six people were killed and several others injured on Saturday in two terrorist attacks at central London landmarks in which police shot dead three suspects.

The attack that took place at London Bridge and Borough Market comes just days ahead of the general election on June 8.

Like what happened during the March 22 UK Parliament attack, the attackers used their vehicle as an improvised weapon, using it to run over pedestrians.

The trail of terror

According to Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, they got reports that a van struck people on the London Bridge at 5.08 pm, on Saturday evening, reports CNN.

The van sped across London Bridge knocking over several pedestrians, according to an eyewitness. It was headed toward the London Bridge station, on the south bank of the river.

The vehicle continued to drive towards Borough Market, just south of the bridge, where three assailants got out and attempted to stab civilians in a restaurant, including a police officer.

Armed police were called to the scene and, within eight minutes, the three assailants were shot dead.

Rowley said the assailants were wearing what looked like explosive vests, which appeared to be fake upon further investigation.

"The incidents at London Bridge and Borough Market were declared as terrorist incidents," the Met Police tweeted, minutes after Prime Minister Theresa May said her government was treating the case as a "potential act of terrorism", reports Efe news.

Saturday night's "terrible incident" will be the focus of a meeting of the UK government's Cobra emergency committee, May's office said.

At least 20 people were taken to hospitals across London after the deadly incident, leaving the whole nation in shock as it still recovers from the Manchester arena suicide bombing nearly two weeks ago.

The Met said that a third incident, in the Vauxhall area, was determined to have no connection to what happened at the two other locations.
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