London Stabbings: Attacker Sudesh Amman Was Recently Released After Serving Time For Terror Offences

A man who was serving time for terror offence was shot dead by police after he attacked people in south London. The suspect who has now been identified as Sudesh Amman, 20, was an ex-con released just days earlier, reports BBC.

Amman was was under active police surveillance at the time of the attack, which police believe to be an Islamist-related terrorist incident. The police said the he had a hoax device strapped to his body.

Amman came to the attention of counter-terrorism authorities in April when authorities learned of postings on a messaging app. Amman had sent videos to relatives and acquaintances on a WhatsApp group, including images of beheadings he sent to his girlfriend.

“If you can’t make a bomb because family, friends or spies are watching or suspecting you, take a knife, molotov, sound bombs or a car at night and attack the tourists (crusaders), police and soldiers of taghut or Western Embassies in every country you are in this planet,” he wrote to her, the BBC said.

In the ghastly stabbing incident in London on Sunday (2 February), three people were injured, with one person in a life-threatening condition. This is the second stabbing incident in London after the London Bridge attacker Usman Khan was hailed as a success story for the Learning Together rehabilitation program, an initiative run by Cambridge University to educate prisoners

In response to the attack, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government would announce further plans for "fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences" on Monday (03 February).

At present UK’s domestic intelligence MI5 and Counter-terrorist police have around 3,000 so called "subjects of interest" and are under round-the-clock surveillance because it takes a huge team of specialist officers to watch a suspect covertly.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that his thoughts were with the injured and others affected. He thanked emergency services for their response.

Home Secretary Priti patel tweeted that she is being kept updated on Streatham stabbing which is has been declared terrorist-related.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said, "Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life - here in London we will never let them succeed." He also released a statement via twitter.

Embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who led the labour party to its worst defeat since 1935, said that his thoughts were with those affected and thanked emergency services "for their dedication and quick response".