Update: Attacker now named, police raid 6 addresses and make 8 arrests:
U.K. attacker ID'd as Khalid Masood, British-born man once investigated for 'violent extremism'
Attacker had not been convicted of terrorism-related offences
Khalid Masood, 52, has been identified as the man behind the attacks Wednesday in London that left three people dead and many others injured outside Britain's Parliament.
Masood was born in Kent to the southeast of London and had been most recently living in central England, London police said.
"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," police said in a statement. "However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH [grievous bodily harm], possession of offensive weapons and public order offences."
Earlier, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said the attacker had been investigated by British intelligence "some years ago."
May said he had been investigated by MI-5, the U.K.'s intelligence service, "in relation to concerns of violent extremism," but that he was not part of what she called the current intelligence picture, saying he was a "peripheral figure."
Masood sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, ploughing into pedestrians along the way, then ran through the gates of the nearby Parliament building and fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman before being shot dead.
May and British police say they believe he acted alone and was "inspired by international terrorism." She said there is no reason to believe that "imminent further attacks" are planned.
She called Wednesday's events "an attack on free people everywhere."
ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Amaq news agency said on Thursday. The group has been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe, but also has claimed certain attacks in a show of opportunism.
Forty people were injured and 29 remain in hospital, seven of whom are in critical condition.
Those still in hospital include:
12 Britons
3 French children
2 Romanians
4 South Koreans
1 German
1 Pole
1 Irish
1 Chinese
1 Italian
1 American
2 Greeks
Victims killed and injured
A Mormon church official says a Utah man was one of the people killed and his wife was seriously wounded and remains in hospital.
Kurt W. Cochran and his wife, Melissa, were on the last day of a trip celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on Wednesday when the attacker struck.
The church said Thursday the Utah couple was also visiting the woman's parents who are Mormon missionaries in London.
And earlier, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said a British national whose mother is Spanish has been identified as one of the people killed.
A spokesman said that Spanish consular officials made contact with Aysha Frade's relatives in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia after her identity was confirmed. He was unable to give any further details.
The regional Voz de Galicia newspaper said that Frade was 43 years old and was teaching Spanish in London.
Queen sends condolences
Westminster Bridge has reopened, nearly 24 hours after the attack.
Some areas around Parliament were still cordoned off on Thursday morning and a line of forensic investigators in light blue coveralls were on their hands and knees, examining the scene where the attacker was shot.
Queen Elizabeth sent her condolences on Thursday to those affected by the attack.
"My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence," she said in a statement. The Queen was due to officially open the new headquarters of London's police force on Thursday but will now do so at a later date.
Britain's Parliament this morning observed a minute of silence to mourn the victims.
Flags at Parliament have been lowered to half-mast.
Since the attack, police have raided six addresses, including in London and Birmingham, which have resulted in eight arrests in total.
Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan Police, said they are continuing to investigate the attacker's "motivation, his preparation and his associates."
May and Rowley said there will be an increased police presence in the city, including armed and unarmed officers, as well as more patrols.
MP tried to save officer's life
The policeman has been identified as Keith Palmer, 48.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, whose brother was killed in the Bali terror attack in 2002, performed first aid on the wounded police officer, who later died. About 10 yards away lay the assailant.
"I tried to stem the flow of blood and give mouth to mouth while waiting for the medics to arrive but I think he had lost too much blood," Ellwood said. "He had multiple wounds, under the arm and in the back."
May praised Palmer, calling him a hero who "devoted his life to the service of his country." She said the husband and father had been a member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command for 15 years. He had also been a soldier in the Royal Artillery.
In Parliament Thursday, Conservative MP James Cleverly called for Palmer to receive posthumous recognition for his "gallantry and sacrifice."
Choking back tears, Cleverly said he first met Palmer 25 years ago as "Gunner Keith Palmer" when both men served in the Royal Artillery.
Cleverly said Palmer was "a strong, professional public servant and it was a delight to meet him again only a few months after being elected."
'I was lucky,' says injured man
Romanian officials say the woman who plunged into the River Thames was a Romanian tourist in London to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ionut Valcu said Thursday that the woman fell into the Thames. It wasn't clear if she jumped or was thrown into the water by the SUV.
Romanian Ambassador Dan Mihalache told Realitatea TV late Wednesday that the woman sustained serious head injuries and has badly damaged lungs. Her boyfriend suffered a foot fracture. The pair haven't been named.
Mihalache said: "They were tourists, unfortunately they were unlucky. They had come to celebrate his birthday." He said the pair planned to wed.
A 26-year-old Portuguese man was among the injured.
Francisco Lopes told Portuguese channel TVI that he heard shouts behind him as he walked across Westminster Bridge and, when he turned around, he was struck by the vehicle which had mounted the sidewalk.
He said he lost consciousness and woke up racked with pain. He sustained cuts on a knee and a hand but was released from Chelsea-Westminster hospital after treatment.
"I was lucky," said Lopes, who lives in London with his mother.
Portuguese authorities confirmed that consular officials provided assistance to Lopes.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/britain-we ... -1.4037373
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