The second attacker in the London terror attacks has been named as an alleged Moroccan-Libyan called Rachid Redouane (Rachid Elkhdar), thought to be a pastry chef. The primary attacker has been IDed as Khuram Butt, 27.
What’s Happening?
The main perpetrator behind the attack on the London Bridge has been identified as married father-of-two Khuram Butt. His friend who helped him carry out the terrorist attack has been identified as Rachid Redouane – believed to be a pastry chef living in Ireland after marrying a Scottish wife. Unlike Butt, Redouane is not believed to have been on any watch lists as a terrorist. Redouane also uses the name Rachid Elkhdar and claimed to be six years younger. Redouane is from Barking, East London.
The third attacker has yet to be named by the Metropolitan Police.
Redouane was 30-years-old and born in July 1986. He had said he was Moroccan and Libyan. According to Sky, an Irish ID card was found on Redouane’s body.
Charisse O’Leary, 38, the mother of Redouane’s 18-month-old child, is among seven women also arrested by police investigating the terror attacks. She reportedly yelled, “Don’t shoot,” when police stormed a block of apartments in East London yesterday. O’Leary, who also goes by the name Charisse Redouane, married Rachid in 2012 in Ireland. It is unknown if she adopted his faith and it is believed at this time that the two split before Saturday night’s tragedy.
The Times reported that she was believed to be a convert, but friends told the Mirror she was not. In recent social media posts, Charisse complained that Redouane did not visit their daughter enough.
Seven women and five men aged between 19 and 60 were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Barking on Sunday. A 55-year-old man was later released without charge.
Though Butt was on the watch list, there was reportedly no evidence that he was planning an attack and his filed was not deemed a priority.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “There was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly.
“Work is ongoing to understand more about them, their connections and whether they were assisted or supported by anyone else.”
Though Redouane was unknown to security organizations, Butt’s is not surprising. British security organizations are coming under fire as Butt was featured in a TV documentary last year about British jihadis. He was involved in a filmed altercation with police after unfurling an ISIS flag in Regent’s Park.
He was also seen on Channel 4’s The Jihadis Next Door alongside two well-known preachers on the radars of police and intelligence officials due to their extremist views.
Butt was also reported to the anti-terror hotline after he became radicalized by watching extremist videos on YouTube and police were even warned about the suspect radicalizing children in a local park two years ago by giving them candy and money to listen to him.
London Bridge Attack
Three men have been IDed by British police as being responsible for Saturday’s terror attack on the London Bridge. The assailants killed seven people and wounded 48 others by crashing a vehicle into a crowd and then stabbing people in nearby Borough Market.
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